AN Indian groom’s apparent fear of lightning prompted the bride to call off their wedding midway through the ceremony, leading to a mass brawl.

The woman from the eastern state of Bihar refused to marry her betrothed after he started “behaving in a strange manner” when lightning hit a nearby field during some of the wedding vows, police said Friday.

The bride, from Chitrasenpur village, in the Saran district, called off the marriage when the groom said that he was afraid of lightning and started to act “differently” following the strike.

The groom’s relatives immediately protested as some of the wedding rituals had already been performed by the priest, but they were assaulted by the people on the bride’s side, police said.

It resulted in a violent melee between the two families. Police told reporters: “After the lightning, the groom behaved as he was afraid of it.”

The bride publicly announced she would not marry him, citing his “unusual behavior.”

(SD-Agencies)