A 40-year-old constable, married and father of two, was forced by self-styled moral guardians to marry his girlfriend on Sunday, after her livid husband and some others caught the duo in a compromising position.

Pritam Mirdha, posted at Tillu Bhatta thana outpost in Sonari, buckled under social outrage and married 25-year-old Sumi Purty at a temple.

The wedding at 11.30am came about after hours of high drama.

Early in the morning, constable Mirdha was caught by Sumi's husband Paggey Pahari, at her house in Sidhu Kanhu Bustee, red-handed. Pahari and some others of the busteethen proceeded to hold the constable hostage for over two hours.

Later, some people informed Sonari police. But, by the time the police had arrived, local residents had already convened a meeting of gram sabha (a tribal outfit) at Sidhu Kanu Bustee and the couple was asked to clarify if there was any relationship between the two. When they admitted to their affair, the gram sabha directed them to leave their existing spouses and get married immediately.

"By 11.30am, Mirdha and Sumi were taken to a nearby temple where a priest got the two married in the presence of around 250 onlookers," said one of the bustee dwellers.

But, the knotty problem does not end here. Three children are involved.

Pahari and Sumi have a one-year-old son.

Mirdha and his wife, who stays in Dumka, have a seven-year-old daughter and a four-year-old son. His wife is ignorant of his second marriage.

Confirming the sequence of events, Sonari OC Binod Kumar Paswan said: "We will submit a petition against Mirdha to our superiors. Policemen should not get involved in such matters."