Three women of gang that targeted single older men arrested in Hardoi
Three women were arrested in Hardoi for cheating 13 older men in marriage scams, part of a gang led by Pramod Kumar, police reported.
Three women of a gang that exploited and cheated at least 13 older single men in the name of marriage were arrested in Hardoi on Sunday, police said.
Hardoi (City) circle officer (CO) Ankit Mishra said the three women–Sonam alias Pooja, Asha alias Guddi and Sunita, all of whom hail from Hardoi–were arrested in connection with two cases registered with Hardoi police on March 5 and January 23. He said the arrests helped police find out that the women were part of an organised gang run by one Pramod Kumar.
He said the gang targeted older unmarried men. After the men married younger women, the gang fled with valuables and belongings promised to the women before the marriage. Sometimes, family members of the grooms were sedated so that the gang could get away from the registrars’ offices. “The three women members said they were involved in 13 such cases wherein they duped people on pretext of marriage,” the CO added.
Police were collecting details of the crimes even as efforts to arrest Pramod Kumar and others were on.
“The first case in Hardoi was registered under Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 318 (2) for cheating and 316 (2) for criminal breach of trust by one Neeraj Gupta in February. Gupta alleged that one Pramod Kumar promised him his granddaughter Pooja’s hand in marriage and took him to a registrar’s office in Hardoi where Pooja and some other women met him. Pramod, Pooja and others disappeared as soon as Neeraj handed him the promised amount and some ornaments to Pooja,” he added.
In the second case, the complainant said a woman named Pooja even stayed in a live-in with him for days before fleeing with cash and valuables from his house.