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‘Rented’ brides: Bathinda man who duped 13 grooms across 3 states held
Singh’s modus operandi involved targeting families that were struggling to find brides due to financial constraints or the advanced age of the grooms
A 59-year-old man from Punjab, identified as Resham Singh, has been arrested for masterminding a series of fraudulent marriages across Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan. The accused had allegedly solemnised fake marriages by taking money from grooms, ranging from ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh, and renting out brides for a short period before they fled with gold and cash.
Singh was arrested following a joint raid by Haryana and Rajasthan police at a wedding function in Dabwali, Haryana, on June 1. At the time of his arrest, Singh was performing the role of a bride’s father during the ceremony of a disabled groom from Moga district, Punjab. The bride, however, failed to provide any details about her father when questioned, leading to the immediate arrest of the accused.
According to police, Resham Singh, originally from a village in Bathinda, Punjab, had been operating the scam for over nine year. He had been absconding since March 2024, when Rajasthan police had booked him in Bikaner for a similar fraud. In that case, Singh had duped two grooms by solemnising their marriages with fake brides. When the grooms attempted to register the marriages, they discovered that the documents for both brides were forged, and the brides had already fled.
Singh’s modus operandi involved targeting families that were struggling to find brides due to financial constraints or the advanced age of the grooms. He would set up fake weddings, where he or his accomplices would perform the role of the bride’s family. After the marriage was completed, the bride would stay with the groom’s family for a few days or months before disappearing with valuable gold ornaments and cash.
In the course of his investigation, it was revealed that Singh had orchestrated at least 13 fraudulent marriages across Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan. The police said Singh had planned three marriages each in Bhiwani and Sonepat districts of Haryana, one each in Hisar and Ambala, two marriages in Punjab and three marriages in Rajasthan’s Bikaner.
A spokesperson for the Dabwali police said that in the recent case, Singh’s accomplice, a woman, had taken ₹1 lakh from the groom’s family, with the total marriage contract being finalised for ₹2 lakh. The woman involved has also been taken into custody.
Lakhvir Singh, the station house officer (SHO) of Kolayat police station in Bikaner, Rajasthan, told reporters that the breakthrough came after receiving a tip-off that Resham Singh was organising yet another fraudulent marriage in Haryana. The police acted swiftly with the help of Haryana’s law enforcement agencies and arrested Singh from the wedding venue in Dabwali.
Resham Singh was previously booked in 2016 for a fake marriage case in *Rajasthan. Additionally, he is also facing ten cases of vehicle theft and three cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Singh’s troubled financial situation, after his father sold their land in Punjab, led him to a life of crime. Initially working as a factory worker in Punjab, Singh eventually turned to criminal activities, starting with vehicle theft and later progressing to the fraudulent marriage racket.
The police have now formed a special team to investigate further into Singh’s criminal activities.
Police said that Resham Singh has no contact with his wife and children, who are living in a village in Punjab.
