MUMBAI, June 28 — The story begins, as so many do, with hope. A 37-year-old divorced woman in Powai, looking to rebuild her life, created a profile on a matrimonial site in 2023. She was honest about her past, disclosing that she was divorced.
What unfolded over the following months was a carefully constructed deception. She matched with a man who introduced himself as an unmarried businessman.
At its heart, the case now before the Parksite police in Vikhroli is about the betrayal of that trust. The man, aged 33, has been booked along with three of his family members for allegedly concealing his existing marriage and tricking the woman into marrying him. The couple wed in a Buddhist ceremony in Bandra in 2023.
For those involved, the nightmare began almost immediately. According to the complaint, the woman’s parents gifted her gold jewellery weighing roughly 95.44 grams during the wedding.
But within a week of moving into her matrimonial home in Kamothe, Navi Mumbai, the taunts began. She alleged that her husband, her father-in-law, her brother-in-law and her sister-in-law all began harassing her for not bringing enough dowry. The abuse, she said, was not just verbal.
The complaint states that the man frequently assaulted her. The financial stakes were significant. Beyond the dowry harassment, the family is accused of cheating her family out of a substantial sum — Rs 24 lakh, according to the police complaint.
The case has taken an even darker turn with the emergence of another woman who claims she is the man’s first wife and that they have a child together. This revelation, if proven, would mean the entire marriage was built on a lie.
The complainant, a homemaker, had divorced her first husband and was seeking a fresh start. Instead, she found herself trapped in a cycle of violence and financial exploitation. The Parksite police have now registered a case against the man and his three family members.
The charges include concealing his existing marriage, cheating, and dowry-related harassment. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are expected to examine the claims made by the woman who says she is the first wife.
For the woman at the centre of this case, the legal process is only just beginning. The case highlights the risks that can lurk behind matrimonial profiles, even for those who are careful and transparent about their own circumstances. The question now is whether the justice system can untangle the web of alleged deceit and provide some measure of accountability.
