IN PICS! UP: Bride beats groom with iron rod on first night of marriage, runs away with cash

Instead of love, it was loot. A groom from a Bijnor village in Uttar Pradesh was nursing injuries at a hospital the night after his wedding.

He was thrashed black and blue by his newly-wed wife who turned out to be a "robber" on Tuesday night.

The bride struck him repeatedly with a blunt object and decamped with Rs 20,000 cash and jewellery worth Rs 2 lakh. The woman is said to be from Haridwar.

The groom said that he got married at a temple on March 15 after being introduced to the woman by a "matchmaker".

The couple travelled to Kunda Khurd village in Bijnor where they were welcomed by villagers and performed all the wedding rituals. The groom was happy and thought he was settled for life.

However, the marriage turned out to be "staged" and a plot was hatched to rob him on the wedding night, the groom said. "I didn't know what really happened. All of a sudden, my wife started thrashing me with a blunt object.

I fell unconscious. Later, I came to know that she ran away with jewellery and Rs 20,000 cash," he added. The groom's family is now trying to trace the "matchmaker" for answers.

Bijnor superintendent of police Dharamveer Singh said that he came to know about the incident on Thursday and a complaint is yet to be lodged by the man's family.

Several instances, where brides flee with cash and valuables immediately after wedding have come to the fore in the past one year.