Tainted cricketer Ankeet Chavan weds Neha Sambari

Mangalore Today News Network/DHNS

Mumbai, June 3, 2013: Disgraced Mumbai cricketer Ankeet Chavan savored moments of happiness as he tied the wedding knot with Neha Sambari in a quiet ceremony here Sunday afternoon.

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 the wedlock planned several months ago.

After his marriage and post-wedding functions, Chavan will return to the lockup 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 neighbors 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 Sunday night 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 especially 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.