The Nayapalli Police in Bhubaneswar have arrested a woman and her mother for allegedly duping a groom from Karnataka under the guise of a marriage proposal. The suspects, Mamata Das (the mother) and Laxmi Das (the daughter), were apprehended after the groom lodged a complaint stating that he was cheated during the marriage proceedings.
According to the police, a marriage broker facilitated the meeting between the two families, where they agreed to proceed with the marriage. The groom, M. V. Shankar, a businessman from Karnataka, traveled to Bhubaneswar to meet the bride’s family. After the engagement ceremony, the groom, in line with his tradition, presented gold jewelry, money, and clothes to the bride’s family. Everything seemed in order, and the marriage date was set for the following Sunday.
However, on the day of the marriage, when the groom and his family arrived at the court, they found that the bride and her family were unreachable—neither their phones worked nor did they appear at the court. The groom then began making inquiries and discovered that he had been scammed. He was informed that Mamata and Laxmi Das had taken off with the gold necklace, armlet, and earrings gifted to the bride.
Upon filing the complaint with the Nayapalli police, officers investigated and found that the accused mother-daughter duo had a history of fraud and had been involved in similar scams in the past. Mamata Das denied the allegations, claiming they were falsely implicated and had been tricked into participating in the ring ceremony. However, further investigation revealed that they had a history of making false claims and collecting money under false pretenses.
Mamata and Laxmi Das were arrested and produced before the Bhubaneswar court. The police have stated that further investigations are underway to uncover any other scams they may have been involved in.
