E-Paper
Sham marriages: Gang busted, five arrested in Ludhiana
The accused used to take lakhs of rupees from the groom to fix the marriage. After the woman settled in the family, the accused with the help of other gang members used to steal jewellery and cash from the groom’s house and escape.
With the arrest of four women and a man, the police busted a gang of fraudsters on Wednesday. The accused used to organise fake marriages and later, dupe the groom and his family members.
The accused have been identified as Rani of Hisar, her husband Pala, Gurmeet Kaur of Nawanshahr, Jaswinder Kaur and Asa Rani, both from Patiala. Accused Gurmeet Kaur has been married thrice, said police.
The police said that two accused women— also the gang leaders — Sonia and Bala are absconding and a manhunt has been launched to arrest them.
The accused were on their way from Shimlapuri area to Gill Road, when they were arrested, police said.
Assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Sandeep Vadhera said, “The accused used to target the men who are above 30 years of age and are unable to get married.”
“They approached the men and send pictures of prospective brides ( mostly who were gang members). The accused used to take lakhs of rupees from the groom to fix the marriage. After the woman settled in the family, the accused with the help of other gang members used to steal jewellery and cash from the groom’s house and escape,” said the ACP.
BOX SHIMLAPURI- BASED WOMAN RESCUED
A Shimlapuri-based woman who was being married to a Hisar-based man was rescued by the police.
Inspector Pramod Kumar, station house officer (SHO) at Shimlapuri police station said they had a tip off that the accused are involved in trafficking women by organising fake marriages and duping people.
The police said that the accused had sent the woman’s photo to a Hisar-based man, convinced him that she belonged to a poor family and asked him to provide financial assistance to her family.
Following this, the man accompanied by his relatives came to the city to meet the woman’s family. Police sources said that the rescued woman who was earlier a part of the gang had informed the cops about the fake marriage with the Hisar man.
A case has been registered against the accused gang members under Sections 370 (trafficking) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).The police are questioning the accused to get more information about their past records.
