Maha minister Anil Deshmukh & wife to do ''kanyadaan'' of orphan, disabled bride

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and his wife will perform the 'kanyadaan', ritual of offering daughter's hand to groom in marriage, of an orphan and speech and hearing impaired bride in Nagpur on Sunday.

Nagpur Collector Ravindra Thakre and his wife will will perform the father''s duty for the groom, who is also an orphan and suffers from the same disabilities, according to a release issued by the district information office.

The woman, aged 23, was found abandoned at a railway station in Nagpur 23 years back, and was adopted and raised by social worker Shankarbaba Papalkar at his orphanage in the state''s Amravati district, the release said.

The 27-year-old man was found abandoned in Dombivali town of Thane district when he was two years'' old. He was also adopted and brought up by Papalkar at his orphanage.

Their wedding will be held on December 20. Collector Thakre and Deshmukh's daughter-in-law on Tuesday invited the bride and the groom at their residences in the city and held small programmes ahead of the couple''s wedding, the release said.