Ditched at the altar: Haryana wedding planner dupes 35 men on pretext of finding them ‘beautiful’ brides
The incident once again brings to fore the shortage of brides in Haryana, leading to desperation among bachelors who are unable to find suitable women for marriage.
A woman posing as a wedding planner duped 35 bachelors of Rs 45,000 each on the pretext of finding them beautiful brides. The accused, identified as Anita of Delhi, with the help of her aides, had been collecting the money from eligible bachelors in cities like Rohtak, Jind, Sonepat and Jhajjar for the past three months, promising them suitable brides to marry in a mass-wedding function on December 27.
The bachelors and their family members were asked to assemble in Sonepat’s Kharkhoda town at 10 am on Wednesday, from where they were promised a bus to take them to their wedding destination where their brides will be waiting for them.
However, when all of them gathered here, they could find no trace of Anita. Her number was switched off, while her aides who helped her collect money from the men remained clueless of her whereabouts.
Exhausted after waiting for Anita for several hours, the men and their family members reached Kharkhoda police station and created ruckus demanding her arrest.
“My mother had passed away four months ago, so my relatives approached me with Anita’s proposal. Maine socha tha ghar pe koi roti banane wali aajaegi aur paise dediye (I thought a girl who can cook will come home, so I gave Rs 45,000). She kept on delaying a meeting with the bride. I could sense a scam, but my relatives trusted her,” said Sunny Singh, a victim.
Rohtash Singh, an auto driver from Rohtak, said he had arranged for tent, food and ghodi (horse) at their residence. Kharkhoda police station in-charge Wazir Singh said they were in the process of lodging an FIR against Anita. He said Anita’s sister-in-law, who helped collect money, has been taken into custody.
She told the police that she was not aware of Anita’s whereabouts. She also said that Anita was to arrange brides from an ashram in Delhi’s Tis Hazari.
The incident once again brings to fore the shortage of brides in Haryana, leading to desperation among bachelors who are unable to find suitable women for marriage.