India mass wedding fraud leaves 40 grooms waiting for brides

WEB DESK: An unusual fraud case has surfaced in India’s Madhya Pradesh, where more than 40 grooms were left waiting for their brides at a mass wedding ceremony, only to realise that they had allegedly been duped.

According to a foreign news agency, Abhishek Verma’s family was looking for a suitable match for him when a man from a nearby village approached them, claiming to be a marriage matchmaker.

The man allegedly told families that they could select an orphan girl from a photo album and pay around $200 to participate in a mass wedding ceremony, according to New York Times.

On the wedding day in late May, around 40 grooms, including Verma, arrived at the venue at around 8 am, dressed in their wedding attire.

However, the brides failed to turn up.

The grooms waited for several hours before eventually realising that they had allegedly fallen victim to a marriage scam.

According to police officer Preeti Katare, the victims were men aged between 20 and 40, mostly from rural areas.

She said that several other victims may not have reported the fraud due to embarrassment.

Police have registered cases against the alleged matchmaker and his associates and launched an investigation into the incident.