In a bizarre turn of events, a young woman from Uttar Pradesh, India, was left devastated after her fiancé eloped with her own mother just ten days before their wedding—taking the family’s cash and jewellery along with him.
Shivani, a resident of Aligarh, had been preparing to tie the knot with her 20-year-old fiancé Rahul on April 16. Invitations had already been sent, wedding outfits chosen, and all was set for the big day—until everything fell apart on April 6.
Rahul told the family he was heading out to buy a wedding outfit. That evening, he called his father to say he had run away and asked not to be searched for. Shivani soon discovered that not only was Rahul missing, but so was her 40-year-old mother, Anita. Adding to the shock, all the family’s savings—₹35,000 in cash and ₹50,000 worth of jewellery (around US$990 total)—were gone too.
Shivani told Indian media outlet NDTV:
“I was supposed to marry Rahul on April 16, and my mother eloped with him on April 6.”
She said her mother left without leaving a single word behind.
Shivani and her father, Kumar, had both noticed something odd in the months leading up to the wedding—Rahul seemed to talk more with Anita than with his own fiancée. Still, they kept quiet, hoping not to ruin the wedding.
Kumar, a businessman who works in Bengaluru, recalled how Rahul would often spend nearly 22 hours a day speaking to Anita over the phone.
“That man would not speak to my daughter but would keep talking to my wife,” Kumar said.
After the pair vanished, Kumar tried repeatedly to contact both Rahul and Anita. Her phone was switched off. Rahul initially denied being with Anita, but later admitted the affair and told Kumar to forget about his wife of 20 years.
“He told me I had troubled my wife for 20 years and I should just forget her,” Kumar said.
Heartbroken and betrayed, Kumar filed a missing persons report in an attempt to track down the runaway couple. Meanwhile, Shivani says she wants only one thing now:
“She can do what she wants now. We don’t care. All we want is the money and jewellery to be returned.”
