Complaint against eight in Surat for organised marriage scam
Updated: Dec 9th, 2024
A complaint has been registered with Surat Police against eight individuals, including two brides, for duping two families under the pretense of marriage and stealing money from them.
According to the complaint, Himmat Vora and his friend Ravji Rupvatiya were searching for brides for their sons, Romit and Atul, respectively. Both fathers reportedly came in contact with Vipul Mehta, a matchmaker who claimed to have profiles of single women interested in marriage.
On August 7, Vora and Rupvatiya met with Mehta, who showed them multiple pictures of single women. The fathers then sent these photos to their sons, who selected the brides they liked and wanted to meet.
On August 8, Atul, Ravji Rupvatiya, Vipul Mehta, and a broker named Sanjay Gabani traveled to Bamla Village near Rajpipla to meet to-be bride Kunta. After meeting her, Atul and Kunta agreed to marry, and the broker asked for ₹1.5 lakh for the wedding arrangements. Rupvatiya offered ₹1.2 lakh, and Mehta was to receive ₹10,000 for his matchmaking services.
Atul and Kunta got engaged on August 10 and got married on August 18 in Surat.
Similarly, Romit and his father, along with Gabani, went to Poicha on August 13, where the marriage of Romit and Padma was finalised with Gabani demanding ₹1.30 lakh to arrange the marriage preparations, with ₹20,000 to be paid to Mehta for matchmaking services.
Romit and Padma got engaged on August 15.
However, after the wedding, Kunta’s family took her home for post-marriage rituals, and she never returned to Atul’s house. Suspecting something was wrong, Vora and Rupvatiya visited Kunta’s village, where they discovered that this was an organised scam.
They confronted Gabani, who promised to bring Kunta back and arrange Padma’s marriage with Romit. However, Gabani kept making excuses, and neither Kunta returned nor did Padma marry Romit.
Vora filed a complaint with the Varachha police, stating that he had given ₹1 lakh in cash, along with jewellery, mobile phones, and clothes, to Padma’s family during the engagement.
Similarly, Rupvatiya provided ₹1.47 lakh in cash, including jewellery, clothes, and a mobile, for his son’s marriage to Kunta.
Inspector R B Gojiya informed the media that they have identified and located all the members of the gang, including Mehta, Gabani, the two brides, their parents, and relatives.
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