Tainted cricketer Ankit Chavan weds Neha Sambari
Mumbai - Â Disgraced Mumbai cricketer Ankeet Chavan savoured moments of happiness as he tied the wedding knot with Neha Sambari in a quiet ceremony here.
Chavan, who was arrested in the Indian Premier League (IPL) spot fixing scam mid-May, was released last Friday by a Delhi court on bail for six days to enable him enter into wedlock planned several months ago.
After his marriage and post-wedding functions, Chavan will return to the lockup on June 6, as per the court orders.
Smiling but sombre, Chavan arrived Sunday afternoon at the wedding venue – Kohinoor Banquet Hall near Shivaji Park – in a marriage procession which included family members, friends, a few neighbours and several cops in plain-clothes.
He sported a creamy white designer kurta, a dark brown dhoti and a red turban, while his bride Neha wore an auspicious red wedding sari as they entered the venue.
After the nuptials were performed around 5 p.m., the newly-married couple sportingly posed for photographs before a battery of media photographers who virtually gate-crashed the venue.
Cricketers, film stars and celebrities, who usually throng such weddings, were conspicuous by their absence.
A wedding reception has been planned for tonight at the same venue, in which over 400 invited guests are expected to participate and partake in a typically Maharashtrian vegetarian wedding feast.
Chavan, along with his team mates S. Sreesanth and Ajit Chandila — all playing for IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals – were nabbed by Delhi Police in Mumbai May 16 on charges of indulging in spot fixing in an IPL match.
He was granted bail by a Delhi court specially for his marriage with stringent conditions, including furnishing two sureties and a personal bond, surrendering his passport and not attempting to contact anybody connected with the IPL scam.