Duped into marriage, man loses 2L to bride

Rajkot: A snacks shop owner in Jodiya town of Jamnagar lost Rs two lakh to a gang who got him married to a woman from Nagpur with the malicious intention of duping him.
Victim Nilesh Kacha told police that the bride Mala disappeared with cash and ornaments within a fortnight of their marriage in March this year.

Kacha, 42, lodged against Mala, his friend Nitesh alias Mitesh Chotaliya and his wife Aarti, and two women named Nisha and Rekha who were booked for cheating and criminal conspiracy.
The victim confided in Nitesh, who was his regular customer, and told him he was looking for a bride for marriage. Nitesh informed that his wife Aarti belongs to Nagpur in Maharashtra and that she would help him search for a woman in her native place.
On March 2, Aarti sent a photograph of a prospective bride to Nilesh and he agreed to the marriage. He even sent her Rs 5,000 to travel from Nagpur to Jodiya. They tied the knot and started living as a married couple.
According to the complaint, 15 days after the marriage, Mala told Nilesh that she had to go to her parental home as her mother was sick and asked for Rs 1.80 lakh. She left promising to return within two weeks. However, she did come back and her phone was also switched off.
The victim then contacted Nitesh, his wife Aarti, and one woman named Rekha who had identified herself as Mala’s aunt.
Rekha told Nilesh that his wife no longer wanted to live with him and even refused to return the cash and jewellery. Nitesh and other accused also fled to Mumbai, said police. Nisha had accompanied Rekha and Mala to Jodiya.
The police said that the gang of looters may have duped several other prospective grooms using the same modus operandi and a hunt for them is on.