Gang laid traps for prospective grooms in matrimonial sites ‘Bride thief’ who looted 15 grooms held

DURING PROBE, Puja disclosed that she had duped 14 more men in various districts in the state and fled with their jewellery on their ‘wedding nights.’

Crime branch of Madhya Pradesh police here on Tuesday arrested a woman for duping 15 men in various parts of the state in the last two years by marrying them and later decamping with the jewellery on the ‘wedding night’ itself.

Puja alias Seema Khan, 32, a mother of four children, was a member of a gang that used to lay traps on prospective grooms looking for brides in matrimonial sites to swindle them by arranging her ‘marriage’ with them, police said.

“The accused woman had been absconding for the last two years. She was finally arrested on Tuesday”, additional commissioner of police Sailendra Singh Chouhan, Bhopal, said.

The matter came to light when one Kanta Prasad Nath of Kala Pipal in Shajapur district in Madhya Pradesh lodged a complaint in the local police station in May, 2020, alleging fraud by a woman.

During the investigation, police received clues about a gang operating in the state that swindled men by arranging ‘fake marriages.’

Nath told the police that one Dinesh Pandey, the alleged gang leader, had contacted him to inform that his family members were keen to hold his relative Puja’s marriage with him.

Later, their marriage was solemnised in a temple in

Sehore, around 50 km from here.

“On the wedding night, the bride wanted to keep all the jewellery given to him by his relatives as marriage gift with her for the safety of the ornaments. Later in the night, Nath received a phone call from Dinesh asking him to send Puja home immediately since his wife needed urgent medical attention”, police said.

Nath allowed his wife to go without suspecting that she decamped with the jewellery, police said.

Later, police arrested two gang members, Seema

Patidar and Reena alias Sultana.

But, Puja had been absconding for the last two years, police said.

“For each marriage, Puja got `35,000 as her share in the loot”, police said.

During the interrogation, Puja disclosed that she had duped 14 more men in different districts in the state during the period and fled with their jewellery on their ‘wedding nights’ making similar excuses, sources said.

“Probe is still on into the case and hence, we cannot reveal much”, the police said.