Two youths who entered into wedlock on Friday were on Sunday separated and beaten up before they could consummate their marriage.

The unusual marriage involved 22-year-old Mustafa acting as the bride and a 28-year-old Harfan, a married man, as the bridegroom, police in Garhmukteshwar (district Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh) said on Monday.

Friends and relatives of the duo initially thought the marriage was a joke. However, they were alarmed when the couple brought a flower-decorated bed.

They beat up the duo, stripped them and then handed them over to the police who refused to arrest the couple, as under the Indian Penal Code marriage between members of the same sex is not a crime. (Marriages are governed by the civil code)

Police said that they could take action only if the duo had indulged in sodomy, which is illegal in India.

However, this controversy does not seem to have deterred the couple that plans to live together as man and wife.