Jaipur:
Her husband would pose as the brother of “Looteri Dulhan” Anuradha Paswan to conduct each her weddings to 25 men, all of which ended with the woman making off with cash, jewellery and valuables from the victims’ weeks later.
Leading a fake marriage gang, Uttar Pradesh resident Anuradha Paswan picked a new identity and city of residence by tampering with information on her Aadhaar card. Charging a commission of Rs 2 lakh, gang members would pitch her match to prospective grooms. The fake broker and brother would leave after taking the money or would return the money and express the woman’s disinterest in the marriage if too many questions or doubts were raised by the victim’s family.
Once a match was made, rituals would be carried out and a marriage agreement would be signed.
The 32-year-old woman would establish a bond with her fake husband’s family. And on one fine day, she would intoxicate her husband and his family and make away with their valuable while they were fast asleep. Her victims included men from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Her undoing came last month, when a man in Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur realised that after just two weeks of marrying Anuradha Paswan, she was missing. She had fled with jewellery worth Rs 1.25 lakh, Rs 30,000 cash and a mobile phone costing Rs 30,000.
The Sawai Madhopur police laid a trap for the woman and her gang by making a constable pose as a potential groom and tricked her into marriage.
She was arrested from Chittorgarh district and Rs 20,000 of the Rs 2 lakh extorted from the victim were recovered. 22-year-old Vishal Kumar, her lawful husband who posed as her brother during all the fake marriages, was also arrested. They have a son and a daughter.
The police is now searching for the Pappu Meena, the broker who arranged some of the marriages, and around five other members of the gang.
With inputs from Salman Mansuri
