Ludhiana: An expatriate is charged with duping a man into a fake marriage to fund her residency overseas and then fleeing secretly to Canada with his cash and jewellery.She had made a false claim to be single, said Sardar police after registering a first-information report (FIR) against Simranjit Kaur, her mother, brother, and uncle following an official inquiry into a complaint by her husband, Tejpreet Singh.The man told police Simranjit Kaur’s family had approached him with a marriage proposal, claiming falsely that she was studying in Canada and had already secured permanent residency (PR). They demanded ₹20 lakh to facilitate Tejpreet’s relocation abroad, leading to the couple’s marriage on Jan 25, 2025.After the wedding, the man discovered his bride did not have PR status. Her family then demanded another ₹10 lakh to process her residency file, followed by a continuous stream of cash and electronic bank transfers.The scheme unravelled in Dec 2025 when Simranjit Kaur returned to her parental home for a visit, only to board a flight back to Canada secretly with all her wedding jewellery. Tejpreet discovered her departure through social media.Subsequent investigations revealed the woman had secured a police clearance certificate from Malerkotla by making a fraudulent declaration of being unmarried. The accused face charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections that deal with cheating, criminal breach of trust, furnishing false information, and criminal conspiracy.
