In a shocking case, the Varachha police in Surat have arrested eight individuals, including two brides, in connection with a fraudulent marriage scheme worth Rs 2.47 lakh. The gang reportedly arranged fake marriages between young men from Surat and women from the Rajpipla area, taking advantage of the youths’ desperate search for brides.
The suspects staged all the formalities for the marriages but failed to deliver the brides as agreed. The elaborate scam targeted youths from Surat’s tribal community, who were seeking wives from rural areas. The accused, including matchmaker Vipul Mehta and broker Sanjay Gabani, were responsible for orchestrating the deceit.
The scam began when complainants Himmat Vora and Ravji Rupvatiya, looking for brides for their sons Romit Vora and Atul Rupvatiya, were referred to matchmaker Vipul Mehta. Mehta, who had contacts in Narmada district, showed the fathers photos of potential brides from Rajpipla. After exchanging photos with their sons, both fathers agreed to meet the brides.
On August 8, Atul, accompanied by Rupvatiya, Mehta, and broker Gabani, traveled to Bamla village, where Atul chose a woman named Kunta. Gabani asked for Rs 1.5 lakh for the wedding, but Rupvatiya negotiated the amount down to Rs 1.2 lakh. Mehta was to receive Rs 10,000 for his role in arranging the marriage. The engagement took place on August 10.
On August 13, Vora and Romit visited Poicha village, where they met Padma. A marriage deal was made for Rs 1.3 lakh, with Rs 20,000 to be paid to Mehta. Engagement ceremonies followed, but trouble began when the two brides were never sent to their new homes after the ceremonies.
Atul and Kunta’s wedding took place on August 18 in Umarvada village. However, after the wedding, Kunta’s family took her away for the customary ‘Aana’ ritual, where the bride visits her family’s home post-wedding. Days passed without Kunta returning to Atul’s home. This raised suspicions, and both Vora and Rupvatiya began investigating.
When they approached broker Gabani, he promised to resolve the issue and send Kunta back, as well as deliver Padma to Romit’s family. However, Gabani continued to make excuses, leading Vora to file a complaint with the police.
According to Vora’s complaint, he had given Rs 1 lakh in cash, along with jewelry, clothes, and a mobile phone, to Padma’s family during the engagement, and was to provide an additional Rs 70,000 during the marriage, which never took place. Rupvatiya had also paid Rs 1.47 lakh in cash, jewelry, clothes, and a mobile for his son Atul’s wedding with Kunta.
Varachha Police have identified all the suspects, including Mehta, Gabani, the two brides, and their families. They are now investigating further to determine if the “brides” were real or part of the fraudulent network. Authorities also suspect that the gang might have targeted other unsuspecting youths from Surat.
Inspector R B Gojiya stated, “We are working to uncover the full extent of the scam and have located all the key players. Further investigations are underway to see if other youths were also deceived.”
