A 35-year-old woman, who married an agriculturist’s son and vanished three days after tying the knot, her two associates and a marriage broker have been arrested for cheating the groom’s family of Rs 2.5 lakh.
Gubbi police in Tumakuru district are now flooded with calls from people in both Karnataka and Maharashtra, claiming the gang had cheated them in a similar manner.Cops confirmed they have details of four other such marriage frauds by the gang in the past three years. The accused are bride Lakshmi Balasaheb Janakara alias Komala, marriage broker B Lakshmi, 40, both residents of Kolhapur in Maharashtra, Siddappa, 45, and his friend Lakshmi Shambhulinga Kubusada from Hubballi. Police are looking for one more man, identified as Vijay, who had claimed to be Komala’s brother.
The scam was unearthed when agriculturist Palakshaiah approached Gubbi police in Nov 2023, accusing Komala and others of cheating.
Palakshaiah’s son Dayananda and Komala were married in Oct 2023. Palakshaiah’s friend Basavaraju had given him the number of a marriage broker (Lakshmi), who introduced Komala to him as an orphan.
To finalise the marriage, Komala and others visited Palakshaiah in Aug 2023. Siddappa and Lakshmi Shambhulinga claimed to be Komala’s maternal uncle and aunt. Palakshaiah had to pay around Rs 2.5 lakh to Lakshmi towards brokerage fee and to meet expenses for a sari and ornaments for the marriage. Palakshaiah also purchased gold mangalsutra and earrings, weighing 16 grams, for his daughter-in-law.
But soon, Komala left for Hubballi, saying it was a custom for the bride to return to the parental home three days after marriage. Komala soon became incommunicado, with her mobile switched off.
“I went to Hubballi and enquired with broker Lakshmi. She pleaded innocence. Then I visited the house of Siddappa and, to my shock, they had vacated it. Only then I learnt Siddappa was not Komala’s maternal uncle. Speaking to more neighbours, I learnt that this was the work of a professional gang that cheats people on the pretext of marriage,” Palakshaiah’s complaint read.
A special team was formed to nab the gang. By then, broker Lakshmi too had vanished. The gang had taken shelter in north Karnataka and Maharashtra.
NEW BRIDE AGAIN
Police recently managed to trace Komala to a house in Miraj, Maharashtra. When they knocked on her door, they found that only four days earlier, she had married a youth in that household.
Ahead of the marriage with Miraj, Komala had claimed she was an orphan and Siddappa and Lakshmi were her maternal uncle and aunt. That marriage too was fixed by broker Lakshmi. The gang had taken Rs 2.5 lakh in cash and some gold ornaments from the groom’s family.
“Komala has two children. She had distanced herself from her husband Janakar,” said DSP BK Shekhar, adding they have no clue about the husband’s whereabouts. Her 20-year-old son is in Hubballi, while 16-year-old daughter is in Kolhapur.