11.11.2026 23:13
In India, 42 grooms who paid for a mass wedding ceremony and chose brides from photographs encountered a major scam on their wedding day. The grooms, who came to the ceremony venue with their families, applied to the police after not a single bride showed up despite waiting for hours. While it emerged that the bride photographs had been stolen from the internet, a husband and wife were detained in connection with the swindle exceeding 1 million rupees.
Dozens of men who came to the city of Dewas in India's Madhya Pradesh state from different cities were greatly disappointed as they waited to experience one of the most important days of their lives. Some wore traditional groom's outfits and brought their families and relatives with them, while others waited for the wedding preparations they had been told about to be completed.
THEY CHOSE BRIDES FROM PHOTOGRAPHS
According to a report by The Indian Express, scammers told men who wanted to get married that a mass wedding ceremony would be held with women staying at an orphanage in the city of Indore. The men who believed the promise of marriage were sent photographs via mobile phones of women they were told they would marry. While some families chose brides by looking at these photos, the organizers announced that the wedding would take place in the city of Dewas. Fees ranging from 10,000 to 25,000 rupees were collected from the prospective grooms for the organization. Families were told that the wedding ceremony, clothes, and other preparations would be covered by the organizers.
THEY WAITED FOR HOURS, AND NOT EVEN A SINGLE BRIDE CAME
However, the 42 grooms and their relatives who arrived at the area in the Radhaganj region of Dewas for the wedding were stunned by the scene awaiting them. There were neither brides nor the wedding preparations they had been promised. Responding to the families' questions, the organizers said that the brides had set out from the city of Indore and would arrive shortly. But although hours passed, no bride appeared. The grooms, who waited from the morning hours until night, also began to have difficulty reaching the organizers.
THE BRIDES' PHOTOGRAPHS WERE STOLEN FROM THE INTERNET
Following complaints from families who became suspicious of the situation, police launched an investigation. Initial examinations revealed that the photographs of women shown to the prospective grooms had been taken from the internet and various sharing platforms. It was determined that the suspects presented the women in the photographs as people staying at the orphanage who wanted to get married. It was assessed that the scammers collected more than a total of 1 million rupees from dozens of families using this method.
"THEY SAID ALL THE PREPARATIONS WOULD BE MADE"
Ashok, one of the victims, recounted that the organizers told them not to bring their wedding clothes. Ashok, who said it was stated that all wedding-related preparations would be made at the venue, expressed that they were asked not to perform in advance even the henna and turmeric rituals practiced in traditional marriage ceremonies. Om Prakash, who came with his family from the city of Bhopal, said they chose a bride from the photographs sent to them. Rajkumari, the sister of another groom, also recounted that the organizers kept saying the brides were on the way, but no one came until midnight. She stated that some families rented vehicles to attend the wedding, invited their relatives, and incurred serious expenses.
HUSBAND AND WIFE DETAINED
After the complaints, police took action and caught Mukesh Bairagi, who was alleged to have organized the event, and his wife Sunita Bairagi. Legal proceedings were initiated against four people connected to the incident, while work was launched to catch the other suspects. Police also took up investigation of the allegations concerning the orphanage whose name was used in the fraud. After the incident, the 42 grooms and their families were left facing the money they had spent on wedding preparations as well as the victimization they experienced.