A 45-year-old man from Madhya Pradesh was found murdered in Uttar Pradesh after his marriage to a woman whom he had met online. The woman reportedly forged her identity to lure him into a fake marriage and then killed him to seize his property.
Indra Kumar Tiwari, a part-time teacher and farmer from Jabalpur's Padwar (Khitola) village, had publicly expressed his struggles with finding a bride during a spiritual event last month, NDTV reported.
In a video that later went viral, Tiwari revealed to renowned Guru Aniruddhacharya Maharaj that he owned 18 bighas of land but remained unmarried. This video caught the attention of Sahiba Bano, who, according to investigators, devised a plan to seize his property after learning about his assets.
Bano allegedly created a false identity as "Khushi Tiwari" using a forged Aadhaar card and contacted Tiwari through social media. Bano, along with her two accomplices, including her husband Kaushal, convinced Tiwari to travel to Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, for a marriage ceremony in a hotel, Kushinagar Superintendent of Police (SP) Santosh Kumar told NDTV.
Tiwari, believing the marriage to be genuine, even sent wedding photos to his family.
Tragically, hours after the ceremony, Tiwari was killed. "The man reached Gorakhpur and the two got married. His body was found days later. It is suspected that the woman and her associates killed him and escaped with some jewellery and cash that he was carrying," the SP said.
The man's body, bearing stab wounds, was discovered on June 6 in a drain in the Hata area of Kushinagar. The body was initially unidentified but was later matched to a missing person report from Jabalpur. Police say the suspects intended to use the wedding photos to claim Tiwari’s land as his widow and loot the cash and jewellery he brought for the wedding, India Today reported.
Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh police coordinated to crack the case. Sahiba Bano and her two associates, including Kaushal, have been arrested.
"Sahiba has been arrested. She had made a fake Aadhaar card as well. Efforts are on to nab the remaining accused. A detailed probe is underway," the SP said.
It is also being probed whether there are other victims connected to similar schemes, as one accomplice was reportedly duped in a previous staged marriage.