The police acted on a tip-off and laid trap to bust the gang (Representational)
The police in Maharashtra's Nagpur district have busted a four-member gang that arranged weddings for a fee and cheated the groom's family, an official said on Saturday.
The gang would present one of its female members as the bride and collect Rs 50,000 from the other side. The "bride" would then flee the groom's home the day after the wedding, he said, explaining the gang's method to con people.
The arrest of Satish Deepak Hirekhan (27) and Amit Tekam, Pardi residents of Nagpur, Seema (35) and Sonu (32), a mother of two, came on a complaint by one Manohar Meshram (67) of Wakeshwar village in Mauda tehsil.
While Sonu posed as the bride and married Meshram's son Pravin on February 2, Seema collected Rs 50,000 from his family. Sonu vanished the next day and Seema did not respond to calls from the Meshram family, raising suspicion. They soon learnt about many more families like them.
Acting on a tip-off, the Aroli police conveyed to Seema through a mutual acquaintance that a family was looking for a bride.
The police then laid a trap and arrested Seema and other members of the gang on Thursday, he said, adding that Sonu has a 12-year-old son and a nine-year-old daughter.
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