Mumbai Police arrest mastermind couple who sold women for marriage on pretext of acting gigs

The accused Karan Ganga Bhoir (right) Bhoir’s live-in partner Aisha

The Dharavi police have arrested a 35-year-old man and his live-in partner for allegedly running a racket where young women were married off to residents of Karnakhedi village on the Madhya Pradesh-Rajasthan border. Police stated that the victims were made to believe they were auditioning for roles of brides in serials and instructed to stay in character while the marriage ceremonies were being solemnised in the hamlet.

Nine months ago, the Dharavi police rescued a 21-year-old victim from Rajasthan. After this, four others were duped by the accused, Karan Ganga Bhoir and Aisha, who used the exact modus operandi. These women, however, escaped after releasing they had been deceived.

The police team with the 21-year-old Dharavi resident who was rescued

According to the police, Bhoir and Aisha are residents of Govandi. Since the rescue of the Dharavi resident, they had been on the run and constantly changing their mobile phones. However, their luck ran out on Monday night and the authorities managed to apprehend them at Shivaji Nagar in Govandi.

Men without women

Police sources revealed that Karnakhedi has many bachelors as the sex ratio is skewed towards males. Though the villagers have been creating advertisements and creating profiles on marriage bureau websites, they struggle to find brides. Due to this, locals are willing to pay large sums of money to agents to find partners for the young men.

A police source explained that nine months ago, the 21-year-old woman met Aisha as they were both in the catering industry. Aisha told the victim that she also worked in television serials and offered her a job in the field.

Aisha told the victim that a bride-to-be's role was up for grabs and she only had to go to Rajasthan to get it. She told the victim that they would stay in a house where the entire shoot would take place. Aisha promised to pay the victim Rs 20,000 for her performance.

Aisha and Bhoir, then took the victim to Karnakhedi, instructing her not to break character for five days. Before assigning the ‘role', Aisha also instructed the victim to give an audition where she would call a man and convince him that she was ready for marriage.

The act that wasn't

After the woman was duped into tying the knot with a villager, Bhoir and Aisha informed her that they were going back to Mumbai and would return in a few days. They told her to continue playing the role, stating it was training for her married life. However, the woman soon realised that she had been deceived. Her husband, however, made her stay in the house for three to four days, stating that he had paid Rs 3 lakh to Bhoir and Aisha, whom he referred to as agents.

Before assigning the ‘role', victim was instructed to give an audition where she would call a man and convince him that she was ready for marriage. REPRESENTATION PIC

Meanwhile, the woman managed to get hold of the man's phone and inform her boyfriend in Mumbai about the situation. The latter rushed to the Dharavi police for help. A team comprising PSI Sultan Mujawar, PSI Ankush Jadhav, woman constable Ashwini Ahire and head constable Rohidas Gite under the guidance of Senior PI Raju Bidkar, ACP Govind Gambire and DCP Manoj Patil traced the phone call to Karnakhedi and brought the victim back.

A police officer stated, "The man who married the Dharavi woman revealed that he had paid the so-called agents R3 lakh to tie the knot. He thought the woman was willing to marry him. After the ceremony, she realised that it was not make-believe and that she had gotten married inside a temple." A police source told mid-day, "During the investigation, the police discovered that the accused had sent five girls to this village and married them off to men. Four ran away and returned to Mumbai."