Beed, Police in Maharashtra’s Beed district have launched an investigation after a man claimed he was cheated of ₹ 2.5 lakh in a matrimonial fraud, discovering his newly-wedded wife was actually a minor.
Acting on a complaint filed by the aggrieved man, a resident of Georai town in the central Maharashtra district, police initiated a probe and discovered the bride was actually a minor whose identity documents had been forged. On the evening of October 5, the bride’s entourage arrived in Georai by car. As per the agreement, the groom’s family transferred ₹ 25,000 each digitally to two designated mobile numbers and handed over the remaining ₹ 2 lakh in cash. The matter escalated to police, and on October 19, the girl recorded her statement. Investigations revealed that while a forged Aadhaar card reflected her age as 20 years, she was, in fact, a minor.
A priest was summoned to solemnize the wedding rituals, following which the middlemen departed, leaving the bride behind, according to police.
Police promptly produced her before the Child Welfare Committee . The marriage crumbled within just two days when the bride revealed the entire alliance was a racket orchestrated to extort money and steal valuables, police said on Thursday.
When the family assured her they would visit around Dussehra, she reportedly confessed the marriage was a sham orchestrated solely to siphon off cash and gold ornaments. On October 1, the man and his parents travelled to Jafrabad to meet the prospective bride. During the meeting, the middlemen demanded ₹ 2.5 lakh to finalize the match. “However, within 48 hours of the wedding, the bride began insisting on returning to her parental home.
Desperate to arrange the wedding, the groom’s family agreed to the demand, they said. When the groom contacted the intermediaries demanding an explanation, they dodged his calls and offered evasive replies,” they said.
