Patna, Nov. 3: There is nothing in the arrogant twirl of his moustache that makes him resemble Cupid. But Mothihari town police station in-charge S.K. Jha, Bihar’s own angel of love of sorts, managed to strike where even incentives failed.

A two-hour counselling session by the man in khaki, often looked at with scorn, paved the way for an inter-caste marriage on October 30, a rarity, and often considered sacrilegious, in a caste-ridden Bihar society.

Jha might be self-effacing to a fault but he has managed to do what an incentive of Rs 25,000, announced by the social welfare department for an inter-caste marriage, couldn’t.

“Ankita (19), a kayastha (upper caste), had left her house on October 30 morning in the pretext of going over to her friends house. When she did not come back by late afternoon, her family grew worried and started looking for her. Eventually, she was seen with Shashi Shekhar Patel (22), a kurmi, near the market place,” Jha told The Telegraph.

When asked by her father to return, Ankita apparently put her foot down and professed her love for Shashi. “I want to marry him today,” she had said.

Meanwhile, a police patrol team reached the market and Shahsi and Anikta, along with their families, were brought over to the town police station around 4 pm to talk their way out of the deadlock.

“The parents were reluctant over the caste differences. So we spoke to them for over two hours and managed to persuade them into agreeing to the marriage,” Jha said.

Shashi and Ankita’s story was now poised for a happy ending and there was absolutely nothing, not even the absence of the right muhurta, that could come in the way. A pundit was summoned and the marriage took place in the nearby Hanuman temple with the policemen and the passers-by ending up as the baraati (wedding party).

A beaming Shashi, who runs a small business, later told local channels: “Love does not need any auspicious moment. We had an affair for two years and I am elated with the unusually happy ending.”

Marriage solemnised and a job well done, Jha dwelt on the social pressures that trigger unwelcome ramifications. “Most lovers cannot stand up to social stress and elope. Police, thus, often have to file abduction complaints,” he said.

However, this is not Jha’s first tryst at match-making. The inspector has arranged four such marriages in his 12-year career.

Motihari superintendent of police Sunil Kumar Jha had a word of praise for the policeman. “It’s a noble gesture and it feels nice,” he said.

Bihar State Woman Commission Manju Prakash also lauded the police role. She said: “We will be happy if the police arrange such marriages. That way, they can send out a strong social message.”