Invited or not, Agra Police personnel will now attend every wedding in the district.

With an aim to curb incidents of theft at wedding venues, Agra Police has formed a special team of personnel to keep an eye on suspicious visitors, including children who are often used by gangs to steal valuables, officials said Wednesday.

Deputy Police Commissioner of Agra City Suraj Rai said members of the force would be deployed at wedding venues in simple clothes and they would attend the functions like family members.

"This initiative has been taken keeping in mind past incidents of thefts in marriages. Gangs target parents of the bride and groom, and steal their belonging, including jewellery and cash," he told reporters.

"Eighteen clusters, that have marriage lawns and banquet halls and similar venues, have been earmarked. In every cluster there will be three teams of police personnel. They will be deployed in simple clothes and their duties will be changed accordingly. Monitoring will also be done through CCTV cameras," Rai added.

The DCP further said, "Residents of Agra who have to attend weddings in other districts or regions may inform at local police stations or police posts, so that patrolling can be done near their house in their absence." "The main purpose of this initiative is to prevent cases of theft that occur mainly in marriages during the wedding season," he added.

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