Four individuals, including two women, have been arrested for their involvement in a marriage scam that targeted single men and involved stealing valuables from their homes. The police arrested Poonam, who posed as a bride, along with Sanjana Gupta, who pretended to be her mother, and two men, Vimalesh Verma and Dharmendra Prajapati, who were responsible for identifying targets and facilitating the fraudulent marriages.
According to police reports, the accused had been running this elaborate scam for several months, during which they duped at least six victims. Vimalesh and Dharmendra would scout for potential grooms, convincing them that they could arrange a marriage for a fee of around Rs 1.5 lakh. The victims were then introduced to Poonam, who would pose as the bride, while Sanjana posed as her mother. The fraudulent couples would conduct a simple court marriage, and soon after, Poonam would accompany the groom to his home. Once there, she would steal cash and jewellery and flee before being noticed.
The scheme came to an end when Shankar Upadhyay, a local man, grew suspicious of the arrangement. According to Upadhyay’s complaint, Vimalesh contacted him and promised to find him a bride for a sum of Rs 1.5 lakh. He agreed to the terms and was introduced to Poonam at the court, but the situation raised alarms when the accused asked him to hand over the money.
Upadhyay, growing wary of their intentions, demanded to see identification proof from both Poonam and Sanjana. He mentioned in his complaint that their behaviour and demeanour seemed suspicious, which led him to refuse the marriage proposal. When he refused to proceed, the accused allegedly threatened him with violence and said they would frame him in false cases if he did not comply. Despite the threats, Upadhyay decided to leave the scene and report the matter to the authorities.
Shiv Raj, the Additional Police Superintendent of Banda, confirmed the arrests and said, “We received a complaint from the victim about the fraudulent marriage scam. Our teams were quickly alerted, and we successfully arrested the four individuals, including the two women, involved in the scam. They had been duping men in the name of marriage and stealing their valuables.”
The police are continuing their investigation into the matter and further legal proceedings are underway.
