Picture used for representational purpose only

JIND: A widower from Haryana has lodged a complaint at the CM Window, saying that his bride, whom he brought after paying a hefty amount to the middleman, has vanished after staying with him for about a fortnight.

Surender, 36, of Jind district has claimed that he paid Rs 70,000 to a middlemen to marry the 28-year-old woman, though without verifying her antecedents. He has now approached the Haryana government seeking its intervention for restoration of his conjugal life and nabbing the culprits.

Of late, many such incidents have taken place in the region, which is notorious for bringing “maulkis” (bought brides). Around 20 cases have taken place in the last one year in the area, wherein such women won the faith of the family after marriage and then fled along with the valuables.

Some groups are also said to be active in the area. They lure unmarried people into marrying “maulkis”, who vanish after robbing them and then start searching for another target. Going by some recent cases, these groups target persons above 30 years and settle the deal for around one lakh rupees.

The complaint lodged with the CM Window stated that his wife had died two years ago and his parents were unable to take care of themselves or the family. Under these circumstances, he met two natives of Jind, named Joginder and Virender, on May 17, who lured him to marry an unmarried girl. They said that the girl lived with a poor aunt (mausi) in Ludhiana, as she had lost her parents.

“They demanded Rs 1 lakh as marriage expenses from him, but the matter was settled for Rs 85,000,” the complaint reads.

Surender said that after their assurance, he agreed for the marriage and went with them to see her in Ludhiana towards May-end. As he did not have adequate money with him, he handed over Rs 70,000 to the accused.

Their marriage documents were prepared in a Ludhiana court, which were also attested by a notary public. After that, they returned to Jind the same day and performed marriage rituals in a temple in proper Hindu way. However, the accused declined making physical relation with him on one pretext or the other, the complainant said.

The victim further said after about a fortnight, she insisted on visiting her place in Ludhiana for some jagran programme. “After we reached the railway station, she asked for my mobile for making a call to her home and then disappeared and didn’t come back. When I tried to contact the middlemen, they threatened to implicate me in some case and kill me,” said the aggrieved man.

Talking to TOI, former sarpanch and “selfi-with-daughter” fame man Sunil Jaglan, also a native of Jind, said that around 10 lakh unemployed youth in the state have been facing the same issue for last several years. Due to unemployment, lack of education and decreasing land share, youth do not get married soon and when they cross their 30s, it becomes a problem to find a suitable girl, he added.

Jaglan said there is only one solution to the problem that the government should ensure that every marriage is registered. This would also ensure that identification documents of both parties reach the government, he said.

“The government should also form a separate commission to sort out the issue. Maulkis are brought mainly from Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and north-eastern states. Now they have even started offering term plans like brides for one year, six months and so on, depending on the amount one is ready to shell out,” he added.

