Rourkela: A groom had left his home to tie the nuptial knot, but a peg too many landed him in police custody at Tangarpalli on Sunday.

The groom, Shankar Panda, 28, a resident of Tialkanagar in Bondhmunda, was set to marry a native of Fertiliser Township here on Sunday. The marriage was to be solemnised at the Jagannath Temple Complex.

On Sunday, Shankar arrived with his baraat to get married. As the wedding procession moved on, his friends began to dance. Shankar too joined his friends but only after downing a few pegs. As a drunk groom arrived at the girl's home, it raised several eyebrows. The girl's father, who sells vegetables for a living, apprehended trouble, but kept quiet fearing that any objection to the groom's misdemeanour might derail the marriage.

The groom's misconduct, however, did not stop with the procession. It continued during the wedding rituals. According to an eyewitness, he vomited twice at the altar. He then misbehaved with the would-be father-in-law. When the girl's brother intervened, one of Shankar's brothers assaulted him and the father. When things began to turn worse, the mother and an aunt of the girl stepped in, but they were also manhandled.

When all these happened, the girl was not present. When she arrived for the rituals, she had heard about the misbehaviour of the groom and his brother. When she saw Shankar misbehaving with her father again, she resolved to call off the wedding. Efforts to persuade the girl to complete the rituals did not work.

An eyewitness said: "She countered the elders and asked them what they would have done if this had happened with their own daughter."

Then she went off to lodge a complaint with the Tangarpalli police station against Shankar, his elder brother and a few others. Police promptly detained Shankar and his elder brother and booked them under 149 of IPC.

Speaking to the media, the girl said: "I cannot marry to a person who misbehaved with my family" The girl's father also stood by his daughter's decision. He said: "I might be poor, but I support my daughter's decision."

After his spell of intoxication ended, Shankar said: "I am sorry for what I did and I want to marry the girl."

He said: "My friends had spiked coconut water and soft drinks with liquor. I did not know about it." He begged for mercy with the girl's family but in vain.

Inspector-in-charge of Tangarpalli, Manoranjan Pradhan, said: "A case under 149 of IPC has been registered against the groom and his brother for rioting."

He said the groom's side had asked for a day to resolve the issue with the girl's side.

"I have allowed him time till 8pm on Monday to resolve it," said Pradhan. However, the girl refused to budge and turned down all efforts of reconciliation.