The court of additional chief judicial magistrate Monika Lamba has delivered a resounding verdict in the case of the notorious NRI marriage fraud gang.
The four convicted individuals, namely Narinder Purewal of Jalandhar, Parampal Singh of Golewala in Faridkot, Gagandeep Singh of Amritsar, and Parveen Kaur alias Manpreet Kaur Dhaliwal of Moga, have been sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment under sections 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The court’s meticulous examination of the evidence led to the conclusion that a criminal conspiracy had been hatched by all the accused to defraud the complainant under the guise of arranging his son’s marriage to a Canadian girl. Sections 420 and 120-B of the IPC were deemed proven, resulting in the conviction of the aforementioned individuals.
This legal saga unfolded when Sardool Singh from Golewala filed a complaint in March 2019, revealing that the gang had duped him of ₹35 lakh, promising his son’s marriage to an NRI woman.
The marriage was solemnized in January 2017, and the subsequent disappearance of Manpreet Kaur Dhaliwal raised suspicions. The police were alerted, leading to the arrest of the accused and the initiation of legal proceedings.
Modus Operandi in NRI Marriage Scams Unveiled
Narinder Purewal emerged as the mastermind behind the gang’s elaborate scheme, exploiting the dreams of Punjabi youth seeking marriage to NRI brides.
The gang strategically placed advertisements in local newspapers, attracting grooms eager to settle abroad. Upon engagement, a deceptive pact was made, assuring the groom’s family that the boy would be united with the NRI bride in foreign countries, predominantly Canada.
The accused orchestrated a façade of legitimacy, introducing fake brides and their purported’relatives’ from abroad. Counterfeit documents, including the bride’s passport, were presented to the groom’s family. To further authenticate the proceedings, the gang arranged for fake relatives of the bride. However, a few months post-wedding, the brides would vanish, leaving bewildered families in their wake.
The Jalandhar-based gang’s fraudulent escapades extended to conning more than a dozen families, promising marriages to fake NRI brides as a supposed ‘passport to foreign shores.’ Authorities have registered 18 similar cases against the mastermind across police stations in Ludhiana, Moga, Jalandhar, SBS Nagar, and Amritsar.
Also Read: Afghanistan permanently shuts down its embassy in India