J&K woman faces allegations of marrying over a dozen men, decamping with ‘mehr’ money, gold

Police investigating woman accused of marrying multiple men in J&K, duping them of gold & money; victims allege they were tricked by middle-men; victims include aged & physically handicapped men; police yet to establish list of victims; victims demand action against her.

In the past 24 hours, over half-a-dozen men have held street demonstrations in Srinagar against a woman from the Pir Panjal valley’s Rajouri district, whom they accuse of marrying multiple men for a couple of months and later decamping with the gold and money. The number of such victim men is only growing with each passing day.

The J&K police have lodged a First Information Report (FIR) under Section 420 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code in central Kashmir’s Budgam. “We received a complaint from a local resident that he was duped by the woman after marrying him for a couple of months. Many men have now come forward with the same allegations. We are investigating the matter,” Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Khan Sahib, Budgam, Gulam Mohiuddin told The Hindu.

The police had to release the accused after she produced an anticipatory bail in the case on Friday. However, a middle-man, who helped in tying the knot with the victim man from Budgam’s Khan Sahib area, has been arrested. Meanwhile, police officials said the accused refused to identify any of the “victim grooms”.

Mohammed Altaf Mir, one the victims from Budgam, alleged that the bride was introduced to him by a middle-man. “It’s a gang. The middle-men introduce the woman with different names and get them married to men from Kashmir. After the marriage, the bride vanishes from the house on one pretext or the other with cash and gold,” Mr. Mir said.

She is accused of marrying more than two dozen men from Kashmir. However, the police are yet to establish the list of victims. Around six men held demonstrations in Srinagar’s Press Colony on Thursday. “We want action against her so that no man is cheated in the future,” another ‘victim’ said.  

Muslims have a contract marriage and ‘mehr’, an amount fixed at the time of wedding, is supposed to be paid by the groom to the bride. The victims allege she would fix “handsome amount” as ‘mehr’ and within weeks decamp with the money and gold. Most victims alleged that they were looted of Rs. four to six lakhs by the woman and her gang. “We are tricked into marrying her by the middle-men,” another man from Budgam said.

Abid Zahoor Andrabi, a lawyer pleading a case of a duped man from Budgam, said, “A big inter-district gang seems to be involved.”