| Uttar Pradesh, June 2025 |
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In just a couple of weeks after their wedding, two newlywed women from Uttar Pradesh eloped with their lovers - but these aren't isolated cases. They fit a growing pattern: **women entering marriage only to betray the groom soon after**.
And the husbands' responses tell a deeper story about trust, fear and modern Indian marriage.

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| Case 1: Budaun, UP (May 2025) |
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* **Khushboo**, 20, married Sunil, 23, on May 17.
* Stayed 9 days with in-laws, then returned to her parents as per tradition.
* **Eloped with her lover** from her parental home.
* Sunil filed a missing report m but **Khushboo walked into the police station herself**, asking to live with her lover.
* Sunil accepted her decision and said:  

  > **“I’m just glad I didn’t become another *Raja Raghuvanshi*. Now she’s happy, and my life is safe.”**

* All wedding gifts and jewelry were returned. No legal fight, no complaint. The matter was settled amicably.

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| Case 2: Chandauli, UP (June 2025) |
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* **Khushi** married Shamsher on June 4.
* On June 14, while out shopping and eating *chaat*, she **vanished mid-market**.
* **Shamsher searched frantically**, then filed a police report.
* She was found in **Varanasi** with her **pre-marriage lover**.
* At the police station, she **refused to return** and insisted on staying with her lover.
* Shamsher’s accepted her decision and said:  

  > **“Let her go. I don’t want to die packed in a drum.”**

* Again, both families agreed to part peacefully. No case filed. The police confirmed all three were adults and allowed the couple to leave.

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**Sources:**  

* **Budaun case**: [**India Today**](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/up-woman-elopes-with-lover-husband-says-saved-from-becoming-raja-raghuvanshi-2742114-2025-06-17) | [**Economic Times**](https://m.economictimes.com/news/new-updates/happy-to-be-alive-up-groom-relieved-as-bride-elopes-with-lover-before-honeymoon-says-at-least-im-not-dead-like-raja-raghuvanshi/articleshow/121907810.cms)
* **Chandauli case**: [**Navbharat Times (Hindi)**](https://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/state/uttar-pradesh/chandauli/chandauli-news-bride-absconds-with-boyfriend-10-days-after-marriage/articleshow/121943421.cms) | [**Latestly**](https://www.latestly.com/socially/india/news/dont-want-to-die-packed-in-a-drum-bride-elopes-with-lover-10-days-after-wedding-in-ups-chandauli-police-hand-her-over-to-lover-after-husband-refuses-to-take-her-b-6939849.html)

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**Takeaways**

* Changing Dynamics: In both cases, women exercised full autonomy **post marriage** to leave and live with their lovers, with minimal or no legal pushback from the grooms.

* Groom Responses: Husbands opted for withdrawal and self preservation over confrontation, reflecting lack of legal protections & social repercussions.

* Police Role: Authorities acted as mediators, not enforcers - no FIRs, arrests or family pressure to “restore honor.”

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| Things to Reflect/Discuss |
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**1. Empowerment without accountability?**

We do not judge women for choosing freedom. But *are we also saying* **they carry no blame for the emotional wreckage** left behind?

- If you were in love with someone else, why marry another man?
- If you had doubts, why let two families invest heart and home?
- If you chose to leave, knowing he might marry again, **why make it harder for the next woman to be trusted**?

**2. What about the *invisible pain* of the groom’s side?**
- They didn’t just lose a bride, they lost trust, peace and dignity.
- The brothers, sisters, cousins and elders who built connections, welcomed a new daughter into their homes - all severed overnight.
- And all society offers them is: *“Be glad you’re not dead.”*

**3. Is this what a *women empowered* society looks like?**

**4. Before You Say "It's Society's Fault" or Parent's fault ...**  
**You don’t get to say both:**  

> **She’s an adult with agency & choice.**
> and then, 
> **She’s a helpless victim of society.**  

**Pick one.**


Eloped Within Days of Wedding: The Parallel Stories of Two Newlywed Brides in UP