A wedding ceremony turned chaotic in Sandhwan village, the native village of Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, near here, when police in civil clothes forcibly detained the bride’s father from the middle of the Anand Karaj rituals, triggering a scuffle between family members and policemen.According to family members, the man was whisked away in a UP-registered vehicle by personnel from Gidderbaha police station over his alleged involvement in several cases involving the theft of transformers and motors from farmers’ fields in the Gidderbaha area of Muktsar district.The detention led to a heated confrontation as relatives tried to resist the police action. One man reportedly lay down in front of the police vehicle in protest and was allegedly dragged aside as the vehicle drove away with the accused. During the melee on Wednesday evening, a policeman was seen brandishing a pistol after family members caught hold of him and refused to let him leave until the accused, Garib Singh alias Raju, was released.The bride’s brother claimed their father had long given up any involvement in such activities and alleged that the police were falsely implicating him, though his name had surfaced earlier in a theft case.However, Gidderbaha SHO Parvinder Singh said an FIR had been registered against Garib Singh alias Raju in connection with the theft of around 150 electricity transformers and motors from farmers’ fields in the area. The thefts were allegedly carried out by a gang, five members of which had already been arrested.The SHO described the accused as a notorious thief allegedly involved in a large number of water-pump motor thefts from farmers’ fields. He said the accused owned an SUV and had evaded arrest on multiple earlier occasions when police teams reached his residence, allegedly abusing the personnel and escaping custody.The SHO said police received information that the accused had come to Sandhwan village to attend a marriage function. Teams in plain clothes and uniform then rushed to the village to arrest him but faced stiff resistance from his family and relatives, during which some policemen were injured.A case has been registered at Sadar Kotkapura police station in connection with the incident. The accused was to be produced in court later in the day, the SHO said.Photos: Police personnel struggle with family members while detaining the accused during the wedding ceremony in Sandhwan village.