Big lies to lure innocent brides

Radha worked and lived in the US for some years. At 32, after a long search for a groom, she entered into wedlock and took the man to the US hoping for a happy life thereafter. Within a few days, however, the husband went missing along with $30,000 of Radha’s money.

Radha (not her original name) and her family, on investigation, found that her husband, 40-year-old K. Venkat Ratna Reddy, was a notorious criminal who married the woman to fleece her. Reddy had earlier cheated a film producer posing to be an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer. A native of Guntur, Reddy was also involved in bank robbery, immoral trafficking and theft cases and was a fugitive.

Police officials say lack of proper checks often led to disastrous situations with men faking their job profiles and family background and then extorting money from the woman.

“There are at least 35 such cases pending in our police stations. Some marry for dowry,” said Janakamma, Inspector of Women Police Station.

In one case, a man and woman fell in love and got married. The husband quit his job and started taking money from his father-in-law in the name of running a business. He took over `40 lakh, by when they realised that he had married another woman.

“In urban society, it is not easy to verify the background of a groom. But, this is extremely important,” said a senior marriage counsellor in the city.