Positively a Runaway Groom

The pressure of marriage is something many of us will face at some point in our lives. However, Chennai would-be groom, Satish, has dealt with his marital pressure in a rather unique way. Satish was all set to marry the girl chosen out for him by his parents; the couple was engaged and a wedding date was set in early September. However, unknown to the parents or the bride was the fact that this Tamil heart already belonged to someone else. Satish has always been in love with his college sweetheart and a marriage to someone else suddenly felt impossible.

So this South Indian techie used some ingenuity and forged a lab report claiming that he was HIV positive. He presented the evidence to his future in-laws in tears and conveniently wiggled his way out of the predicament. Or so he thought. Something about the story must have seemed specious, because the in-laws called the lab to verify the results and discovered that Satish never even got an HIV test.

Now poor Satish is, as they say, out of the frying pan and into the fire. The bride's family has called and authorities and Satish has been slapped cases under Sections 420 (cheating) and 4 (1) of Prevention of Women Harassment Act. In a last ditch effort he offered to marry the girl once again, but not surprisingly the family turned him down.

Oh Satish, perhaps it's the balance of the universe at work or just rotten luck, but be forewarned runaway grooms (and brides), faking an HIV positive test may not be the best way out of marriage. I'll be surprised if this story doesn't make its way into a Bollywood plot.