"Two women and two men orchestrated a scheme to con bachelors into marriage, stealing cash and ornaments before disappearing. Police unravel a six-heist trail".
In a startling case, Uttar Pradesh’s Banda police have arrested four individuals, including two women, for running a marriage scam targeting single men. The accused — Poonam, Sanjana Gupta, Vimalesh Verma, and Dharmendra Prajapati — allegedly orchestrated an elaborate scheme to lure bachelors into marriage, only to rob them of cash and valuables shortly after.
Police investigations revealed that Poonam posed as the bride while Sanjana pretended to be her mother. The two men, Vimalesh and Dharmendra, acted as matchmakers, identifying vulnerable targets and convincing them to pay substantial sums for the alliance. After arranging a simple court wedding, Poonam would move into the groom’s home, seize an opportune moment to steal jewellery and cash, and then flee.
The gang reportedly executed six such heists before targeting Shankar Upadhyay, who became suspicious after being pressured to pay ₹1.5 lakh for the match. “I sensed something was off when they refused to share Aadhaar cards and threatened me when I hesitated,” Upadhyay stated in his complaint.
Banda's Additional Police Superintendent Shiv Raj confirmed the arrests, adding, “Our teams acted promptly on receiving the complaint. These individuals had been deceiving bachelors under the pretext of marriage. We’ve apprehended the accused, and further investigations are underway.”
Police are now examining whether more victims fell prey to this brazen scam.
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