Bhawanipatna: The Odisha police have busted a fake marriage gang with the arrest of four persons, including two women. They allegedly duped several men of lakhs of rupees in the name of marriage, an official said Tuesday.
Kalahandi district Superintendent of Police Saravana Vivek said that the gang used to target divorced men who are rich and elderly. Two of the gang members were from Chhattisgarh, Vivek informed.
A woman named Elee Mahanta played the role of the bride while the three other people became her ‘parents’ and ‘uncle’. They negotiated with the prospective grooms for marriage. The ‘father’ of the bride got some money as the mediator, which the gang members shared later.
After the wedding, the bride used to stay with the groom for a few days and then leave giving him a bad name.
Following a complaint filed by a person of Kalahandi district, who had been duped of Rs 4,00,000 by the gang, the police started an investigation. They came upon the gang and arrested all the four, the SP said.
Preliminary investigation revealed that they had cheated at least four men between 2013 and 2020. “We suspect that the number may rise. Other people, who have been cheated by them, might not have approached us fearing social stigma. We urge them to register a complaint,” the SP said.
Elee is 32-year-old and a resident of Sundargarh district. She has four Aadhaar cards in different names, Vivek said. It is also being investigated how Elee procured several fake Aadhaar cards.
Elee’s ‘mother’ Mina Gupta and ‘uncle’ Sraban Soni hailed from Chhattisgarh. Birbal Sharma, who used to act as her ‘father’, lives in Bolangir district.