New Delhi/Ghaziabad: The cops stumbled upon a fake marriage racket run by a Ghaziabad gangster, who employed a woman to target prospective grooms from affluent families and dupe them through wedlock.
The man who was arrested earlier spilled beans on the workings of a woman who goes by the name 'Preeti'. He said the woman entrapped a dozen of men through marriages for their money.
The accused woman married only youth from rich families and then hatched plots to grab their property worth crores. To grab the property of a college teacher who owns Rs 200 crore, the gang engaged the woman to marry her mentally-retarded son. Later the woman laid claim on his property. During interrogation, it came to light that this gang had already defrauded dozens of people in similar manner. A case was registered on the complaint of the daughter of the college teacher. Cops finally arrested the gang's kingpin. The 'fake wife' of the accused, who is said to be the mastermind, has absconded from the spot.
The members of the gang madly searched for people who have property worth crores and have no one to take care of them. After targeting such people, these people used to enter that house on some pretext. They would employ 'Preeti' to use all her 'charm' to grab the owner's property by entrapping the owner's son or brother.
The gang targeted Sudha Singh, who had two private colleges in Muradnagar police station area of Ghaziabad. Besides, she was also the owner of properties worth crores. Singh whose husband had died a few years ago has a daughter and a son, who is diffrently-abled. Her daughter got married many years ago, and lives in Delhi.
At the same time, the caretaker of the woman's son , Sachin schemed a plot with 'Preeti' in February this year sensing that cancer-stricken Sudha would die soon.
Sudha's health condition deteriorated fast and she was admitted to the hospital in August. Sachin convinced the elderly woman to employ 'Preeti' as maid. Eventually, 'Preeti' got engaged as house maid and calimed herself as Sudha Singh's daughter-in-law after some time. She wanted to take possession of the house and started claiming ownership rights.
However, Sudha had made her will in the name of her daughter before she died. When her daughter came to know that Preeti was in possession of the house and wanted to take possession of the property too, she lodged a written complaint to the police. The matter came to light during the police investigation that this gang had hatched a conspiracy to grab Sudha's property worth crores. The police arrested Sachin. The search for other accused is going on.
Investigations revealed that 'Preeti', a resident of Rohtak, duped about a dozen in marriage. Most of the marriages took place in temples. Only a few photographs exist as proof of marriages and she not want to leave any 'lasting evidence' of marriages. Therefore, no marriage was registered. The photos also remained only in the mobile phones of 'Preeti' and her gang.
