Women in the gang married their target men before making away with their valuables.
Detection of crime branch (DCB) officials on Wednesday busted an inter-state gang involved in conning and robbing unsuspecting men under the veil of a marriage bureau. The Mumbai-based gang would supply brides to grooms in Gujarat, and eventually make away with valuables. Of the four female gang members arrested, one was married 17 times!
The racket came to light when Naroda-resident Mukesh Gadhvi approached a marriage bureau run by one Ansuya Ramchandani, a native of Mumbai who resides in Naroda. Gadhvi's son Praful was unable to find a bride for himself, owing to which the former had to seek help from Ansuya.
When Praful met his prospective bride Shweta alias Jennifer alias Pooja through Ansuya on February 4, he had no idea what he was walking into. The Gadhvi family approved of the girl and Ansuya demanded Rs70,000 for match-making. She told the Gadhvi family that Rs10,000 of this amount was for wedding-related expenses while the rest would be spent for 'other rituals and valuables for the bride'. Shweta then began staying at the Gadhvis' house until the wedding, which was to be held February 6.
While Ansuya, Shweta, Praful and some of his relatives had gone to Mirzapur court on the D-day to register the marriage, the groom's brother Varun noticed that Praful's cellphone was missing since morning. When the phone was found later in the evening, Varun checked as to who had used it. The phone contained software that records all telephonic conversations.
When he checked the software he was shocked to hear Shweta speaking to someone in Mumbai, allegedly telling the person that they were in Ahmedabad for 'conning someone' and would return to Mumbai on Sunday. The person told Shweta that there was another girl working on a similar 'assignment' in Bhavnagar and asked her to meet the other girl on Saturday at a waiting room of Kalupur railway station.
The family, realising they were being conned, registered a complaint with women's police station at Karanj. Police inspector Chetna Chaudhri then informed DCB ACP Mayur Chavda about the same, based on which the latter arrested Shweta.
Following Shweta's interrogation, DCB learnt Ansuya was the local chief of a large inter-state gang that used to con families desperate to get their sons married. Cops raided Ansuya's residence at Naroda and arrested her along with two other women and a 17-year-old 'con-bride'.
Speaking in the matter, Chavda said, "After questioning the four suspects, it is evident that Ansuya was local chief, while one Salim alias Shafiq, who operates from Mumbai, is the mastermind behind the racket. We will now investigate into the gang's Mumbai contacts."
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}