With a shiny purple turban on his head, Deepak, 24, a labourer in Dubai who returned to Punjab a couple of month in the past, travelled from his village Mandiali in Jalandhar district to Moga metropolis on Friday in a automotive decked with flowers—all set to take residence his “would-be” bride.
With a baraat of at the least 150 friends, together with kinfolk and associates travelling in a number of automobiles, Deepak was all set to marry “Manpreet Kaur, a girl from Moga,” whom he had met on the social media platform Instagram. The 2 had been “in a relationship” for nearly three years.
After “courting” on Instagram for over three years, the couple “mounted” their marriage over the cellphone and even had their dad and mom communicate to one another.
With December 6 set as the massive day, Deepak, as “requested by Manpreet and her household to convey a baraat of at the least 150 friends,” reached Moga on Friday, solely to seek out the Instagram bride “lacking” and the venue booked by her “non-existent.”
After arriving in Moga round midday, Deepak made a number of calls to Manpreet. Initially, she responded, saying a few of her kinfolk would come to escort the baraat to the wedding venue. Nonetheless, nobody arrived by 5 pm, and later, she additionally switched off her cellphone.
After ready for over 5 hours, the groom and his household went to the native police station to file a criticism in opposition to Manpreet Kaur and her household.
In his criticism, Deepak informed police that he lived in Dubai and had met Manpreet Kaur on Instagram three years in the past. They began chatting, entered a long-distance relationship, and finally determined to get married. Their dad and mom had additionally spoken over the cellphone, after which the marriage was mounted for December 6.
The disheartened groom additionally informed police that Manpreet had launched herself as a lawyer with a “good job” in Ferozepur.
“I by no means met her in individual however had seen her photographs on Instagram. I now doubt if the photographs have been real. She informed me the wedding venue was ‘Rose Backyard Palace,’ however once we reached Moga, individuals stated no such venue exists right here. After I known as her, she informed me to attend and stated her kinfolk would escort us to the venue. When nobody got here, I known as her once more, and he or she informed me to go close to Geeta Bhawan. After we acquired there and known as her once more, her cellphone was switched off. We’ve been duped. We would like justice,” stated the groom, virtually in tears.
He added that he had additionally transferred Rs 50,000 to Manpreet after she had requested for assist with marriage ceremony bills.
Prem Chand, the groom’s father, stated they’d mounted the wedding after talking to the bride’s mom over the cellphone, however they’d by no means met anybody from her household in individual.
“We’ve been cheated. We arrived with a baraat of 150 friends solely as a result of they requested us to. We had initially proposed coming with simply 5-10 individuals, however they insisted the baraat should have 150 friends. We additionally spent some huge cash adorning automobiles, arranging sweets, and hiring a photographer. After we arrived, we discovered the venue they named doesn’t even exist. That is pure dishonest,” he stated.
ASI Harjinder Singh, the investigating officer from Moga Metropolis South police station, stated the criticism had been obtained and a probe initiated.
“We’ll determine the lady utilizing her cellphone quantity and test her name data. The groom and his household got here to the police station after ready for nearly 5 hours, however nobody got here to obtain them. The groom and bride had met on Instagram, and the wedding was mounted over the cellphone,” stated the ASI.
