By: Express News ServiceNovember 17, 2025 03:24 PM IST 2 min readA Bhavnagar man allegedly killed his bride-to-be during a heated pre-wedding argument over bridal attire and money. (Express Photo)The Bhavnagar City Police on Sunday night arrested a man who was allegedly absconding after the murder of his bride-to-be, hours before they were to get married on Saturday.The accused, Sajan Khagna Baraiya (26), and Soni Himmat Rathod (22) had allegedly been in a relationship for the last one and a half years against the wishes of their families. However, police said, the families had come around and had decided to get the couple officially married.Sajan allegedly went to Soni’s parents’ home and had an altercation with her before the alleged assault which led to her death. PI V K Makwana, in-charge of Gangajaliya police station, said they had finally managed to track him down and arrest him on Sunday.A statement from the Bhavnagar Police said that Sajan is a history sheeter and has at least six previous cases against him – two each in 2023, 2024 and 2025. The murder of Soni is now the seventh case. Previous cases against him include charges of murder, attempt to murder, causing grievous hurt, voluntarily causing hurt, and endangering human life.DySP RR Singhal of Bhavnagar City Division had earlier told The Indian Express, “Since they were getting married, Soni had gone back to her parental home. Early on Saturday morning, Sajan arrived there and they had an altercation regarding the panetar (bridal dress) and paisa (money). This argument escalated to the point where Sajan allegedly took an iron pipe and hit the victim several times, causing grievous injuries. He also grabbed her head and hit it against the wall, leading to her death.”When the family woke up and rushed to the spot, they found Soni dead. They then called the police control, a team from Gangajaliya police station reached the spot and the body was sent for post mortem. An FIR was subsequently filed at Gangajaliya police station.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:GujaratSurat