Marriage fraud on a disabled person, Two sisters from Indore have been sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of Rs.9.5 lakh for defrauding disabled men from financially well-off families after marriage by absconding with cash and gold ornaments, according to the Magistrate Court.
The court found the first accused, Megha Bhargava, 30, and the second accused, Prachi Sharma Bhargava, 32, guilty. The court ordered that they repay the complainant for the money they defrauded. The sisters’ marriage fraud claimed the lives of approximately 11 people, including four Malayalis.
Due to a lack of evidence, the third and fourth accused were released. The sisters were charged by the police after a complaint was filed by an out-of-state resident in Vyttila who suffers from a speech disorder. When the complainant’s father died of a heart attack as a result of mental anguish, the case took a serious turn.
Megha deceived many men into thinking she was married by concealing her marital status. She had a habit of picking disabled people from wealthy families as her target for marriage fraud. The standard operating procedure was for her to flee the scene with the husband’s cash and gold after two or three days of marriage.
In September 2015, Megha married a Vyttila resident at a temple in Ernakulam. Megha’s relatives took the initiative in arranging her marriage. Megha, on the other hand, fled to Indore two days after her marriage with assets worth Rs 9.5 lakh, including cash worth Rs 5.5 lakh, gold and diamond ornaments, luxury clothing, and watches. Only after all other attempts to reclaim her had failed did the complainant turn to the police.
Disabled people from wealthy families who lose money, gold ornaments, and other valuables as a result of marriage fraud rarely report it to the police, ostensibly to avoid public humiliation. This flaw emboldened defendants like Megha to commit more crimes.