Bhopal: The police busted a gang which was supplying girls for marriage in Madhya Pradesh's Bundelkhand and arrested a 'serial bride' who would flee with jewellery and cash after marriage. The thug-bride has been identified as Sapna whose recent prey or husband was Chhattarpur-based trader Sunil Gupta. The 'fake marriage' took place on March 4. Sapna and a middleman Rahul, who pretended to be her brother, had gone missing two days later.

According to the police, Gupta told Chandu, a local, about his desire to get married. Chandu and Goloo got Gupta in touch with Rahul from Sagar. Rahul introduced Gupta to Sapna and claimed she was his sister. He asked Gupta to pay Rs 1 lakh for marrying with Sapna, while the deal was finalised at Rs 95,000. "While Rahul and Sapna divided Rs 50,000 among themselves, Rs 45,000 was divided between the other two," the police said.

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Rahul performed Sapna's Kanyadan, a ritual, during the wedding on March 4. He also stayed at Gupta's residence on March 5. But on the morning of March 6 morning, 'the sister-brother' duo had gone missing. They had taken gold and silver jewellery worth about Rs 3 lakh. After being cheated, Gupta approached the police, and after an investigation, cops managed to nab all four accused. The police said Sapna and gang had duped at least three persons.

In Bundelkhand, buying a bride from other states is a common practice due to its skewed sex ratio. All districts in Bundelkhand region have sex ratio below the national average. Taking advantage of this, girl-supplying gangs and middlemen are active in the region.

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