Priest in Madhya Pradesh elopes with woman after officiating wedding

A 21-year-old woman allegedly eloped with a priest over a fortnight after he performed her marriage rituals with another man at Sironj in Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha district, police said on Tuesday.

“The woman’s marriage was solemnized with a resident of village Asat of Vidishi district on May 7. The woman came to her parents’ house for some post-marriage rituals and then ran away with the priest on May 23 with jewellery worth ₹1.5 lakh and ₹30,000 cash,’’ said Sironj (town) police inspector Shakuntla Bamaniya. “The family members of the priest were also found missing.”

Further investigation to trace the two is going on.

The priest, Vinod Sharma, a father of three, is suspected to have had an affair with the woman, a resident of Tori Bagrod, for the past two years.

They eloped on Thursday but the elopement came to light a couple of days later when the villagers were looking for the priest for solemnising another marriage. He was found missing. On the same day, the woman’s family also lodged her missing complaint with the police.