Jammu, Aug 23: Five persons, including a woman from Uttar Pradesh, were arrested after police busted an inter-state racket involved in orchestrating fake marriages to extort money from unsuspecting grooms here, officials said on Saturday.
So far, five such cases – three from Akhnoor and two from Nagrota – have come to light, a police spokesman said.
Terming the arrests, which also included two locals and two outsiders, a “major breakthrough”, he said police registered an FIR on August 11 at the Akhnoor police station after receiving a complaint about a fraudulent marriage.
Deepak Kumar, a resident of Dhana Chapri, approached the complainant, Rashpal Chand from nearby Dori Dager, with a marriage proposal from outside the Union territory and demanded Rs 3 lakh, the spokesman said.
After the marriage was solemnised, the bride, along with her accomplices, fled within two days, he said.
A probe revealed that the gang was operating a fraudulent nexus under the guise of a marriage bureau.
The racket managed everything, including arranging the bride, priest, and related formalities, the spokesman said, adding that shortly after marriage, the bride would desert the groom on one pretext or the other.
Due to social stigma, many victims refrained from reporting such incidents, he said.
Police have arrested Deepak Kumar and Vikas Kumar, both from Poonch, Arun Kumar, a native of Bihar, and Istakhar and Kusum Lata, the “bride”, both from Uttar Pradesh, the spokesman said.
Four similar cases surfaced during the probe from Akhnoor and Nagrota, he said.
The spokesman appealed to the people to remain vigilant against such fraudulent activities and promptly report any such incident to their nearest police station.
The nexus primarily targeted vulnerable individuals, especially those unable to find a suitable match or overage for marriage, he said.
