Quicksplained: Who is Poonam Gupta, the CRPF officer to get married at Rashtrapati Bhavan?

Wedding bells are ringing at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The historic structure is set to host a wedding on February 12, 2025.

President Droupadi Murmu has granted permission to CRPF Assistant Commandant Poonam Gupta to marry fellow CRPF officer Avnish Kumar.

The ceremony will take place at the Mother Teresa Crown Complex, with only close family members in attendance under strict security measures.

Here’s all we know about her.

Meet the bride

• Hailing from Madhya Pradesh, Poonam Gupta is currently serving as a Personal Security Officer (PSO) at the President’s residence.

• She gained fame after she led the all-women contingent at the 74th Republic Day Parade.

• Before her current posting at Rashtrapati Bhavan, she served in a naval-affected region of Bihar, among other areas.

• An accomplished academic, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, a Master’s degree in English Literature, and a B.Ed. from Jiwaji University, Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.

• She joined the CRPF as an Assistant Commandant after securing the 81st rank in the UPSC CAPF examination in 2018.

• Gupta is quite active on social media and often shares her work and encouraging messages for students.

• Her fiancé, Avnish Kumar, is also an Assistant Commandant in the CRPF, stationed in Jammu and Kashmir.

• Gupta and Kumar’s wedding at Rashtrapati Bhavan will be an intimate affair, with only immediate families in attendance.

• President Droupadi Murmu, according to Moneycontrol, personally approved Gupta’s request to hold her wedding at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The move, reportedly, comes in recognition of Gupta’s outstanding service and strict code of conduct.

About the Rashtrapati Bhavan

• Rashtrapati Bhavan , the official residence of India’s president, is among the country’s most significant architectural landmarks.

• The main structure of the 300-acre estate, which was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, is more than 200,000 square feet in size and has 340 rooms spread across four storeys.

• After Italy’s Quirinal Palace, it is the second-largest head-of-state palace in the world.

• In addition, it features the renowned Amrit Udyan, a museum, the Gantantra and Ashoka Mandaps, and a copper-faced dome.

• C Rajagopalachari, the first Governor-General of Independent India, was the first Indian to reside at Rashtrapati Bhavan in 1948.

• Over the years, several prominent foreign dignitaries have visited the site.

With inputs from agencies