Fake bride, family exposed as police bust wedding racket in Dabwali

The Rajasthan Police, with support from Haryana Police, uncovered a fake marriage racket during a raid in Dabwali, located in Haryana’s Sirsa district. The operation followed a tip-off about fraudulent weddings being organised to cheat unsuspecting families. When police officers reached the venue and began questioning attendees of an ongoing wedding function, panic quickly spread among the guests. Suspicion deepened when no one could provide proper details about the bride or her family. Further investigation revealed that the bride, her parents and everyone from her side were complete imposters. The raid was carried out at Sach Canteen, situated in Dabwali, where the fake wedding was taking place. Police arrested the mastermind of the scam, Resham Singh, a resident of Bathinda, who had been living in a rented house in Dabwali. He had already been declared a wanted criminal in Rajasthan, with a case registered against him in Bikaner in March 2024. He had been absconding for over a year. According to officials, Resham Singh had orchestrated more than 12 fake weddings in the past. His targets were usually families with older or differently-abled grooms who were struggling to find a bride. He would demand large sums of money, stage fake weddings using actors as the bride and her relatives,and then vanish with the money. In each case, the fake bride would stay with the groom’s family for a few days before fleeing with valuables and cash, leaving the family cheated and helpless. In this case, the victim was a disabled man from Nawachand village in Punjab’s Moga district. A woman from Singhewala village in Muktsar contacted the groom’s uncle, claiming she could help arrange a marriage for Rs 2 lakh. The family agreed, visited Dabwali on May 30 to meet the girl, and paid Rs 1 lakh in advance. They returned home to prepare for the wedding. The next day, on May 31, the woman called again, demanding an additional Rs 1.5 lakh. After some back and forth, she agreed to go ahead with the earlier agreement of Rs 1 lakh. On June 1, the groom’s family returned to Dabwali with sweets, cold drinks and wedding clothes. But before the ceremony could take place, the police raided the venue and exposed the fraud. The groom’s family, who had hoped for a joyous celebration, had to return heartbroken and empty-handed. Meanwhile, the police have begun questioning others involved in the racket and further investigations are underway.

Haryana Tribune