Moga groom arrives with baraatis, but UK bride's house 'vanishes' - another NRI marriage scam in Punjab?

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A wedding in Punjab’s Moga district turned into a distressing ordeal for a groom from Sultanwind village, Amritsar, after his much-anticipated marriage to an NRI woman collapsed when neither the bride nor her family appeared at the venue. The incident, which unfolded on Sunday, left the groom and his relatives searching fruitlessly for the bride’s house, only to return home dejected after hours of confusion and disappointment.

Dressed in full wedding attire and accompanied by a traditional baraat (groom’s procession), the man arrived in Moga on Sunday to marry a woman from the UK, with whom he had been in contact for some time. However, upon reaching the location near Moga bus stand - where the bride had claimed her family lived - neither she nor her relatives were present, The Tribune reported.

The marriage, reportedly arranged through a family relative, had been fixed after months of communication between the two families. The groom’s father, Sukhjit Singh, confirmed that no police complaint had been lodged in connection with the incident. Moga DSP Sukhamrit Randhawa stated, “We are verifying the video that went viral in this regard, but no one has lodged a complaint with us”

This case bears a striking resemblance to an incident from December 2024, where Deepak Kumar, a 24-year-old labourer who returned from Dubai, was similarly duped in Moga. Deepak had developed a relationship over Instagram with Manpreet Kaur, a woman he had never met in person but had been communicating with for three years. The wedding was arranged entirely through social media and phone calls between the families.

A Dubai-returned groom and his entourage of 150 ‘baraatis’ were shocked when they arrived in Moga, Punjab only to find his Instagram bride missing and that the wedding venue did not even exist. Locals confirmed that no such marriage palace could be found and attempts to contact Kaur failed as her phone was switched off.

Deepak had reportedly transferred Rs 50,000 to Kaur for wedding expenses, a claim echoed by his father, Prem Chand, who said extensive arrangements had been made for the event, including taxis, catering and a videographer. The family’s ordeal did not end with emotional distress; they also suffered significant financial losses.