Man marries twin sisters in illegal polygamous wedding ceremony

A man from the Indian state of Maharashtra has been booked for marrying twin sisters in a grand ceremony held in the Solapur district of the state.

The man, identified as Atul Uttam Autade, married twin sisters Pinky Padgaonkar and Rinky Padgaonkar on Friday. The incident came to light after a video of the two women garlanding the man went viral on social media platforms. A bride garlands the groom as part of the Hindu wedding rituals.

Autade can be seen being lifted by friends as he tries to dodge the garlands from his two brides. He has now been charged with bigamy, which is an offence in India and carries a seven-year jail sentence.

"A non-cognisable offence case under IPC section 494 (marrying again when spouse is alive) was registered against Atul Awtade for marrying twin sisters together on December 2," senior police officer Shirish Sardeshpande told news agency ANI.

According to local media reports, the three of them knew each other since childhood and wanted to stay close even after marriage. The man had reportedly helped the family of the twin sisters when their father passed away.

The families of both parties also accepted this unusual arrangement. However, a local resident filed a complaint against Autade and the police were forced to launch an investigation into the matter.

"The law states that a person can marry only one woman at a time. We have preliminary information that both sisters are close and wanted to stay together. Further investigation is underway," added SP Sadeshpande.

According to a report in The Times of India, the sisters have been inseparable since they were kids. They went to the same schools and colleges and even got jobs at the same IT company. One of the sisters agreed to marry Autade on the condition that he marry her twin too. Autade runs a travel agency in Mumbai.