In Dholka, Gujarat, it’s not a man’s world any more

Babu Wankar, 30, of Dholka, had not dreamed that his wife Meena would disappear within a week of their marriage. Wankar had married Meena after paying Rs70,000, only to later learn that she had married again in a nearby village after ditching him.

Ganpat Patel too got the shock of his life after he learnt that his wife for whom he had paid Rs1.5 lakh, had earlier cheated another man into marrying her. 

Naresh Prajapati, 26, married 'Hiral Parmar' after paying Rs61,000. Just four days into the marriage his 'wife' along with her gang ran away with his car.

After Prajapati's story was broken, Jitendra Dabhi (28) of Rajkot immediately informed Dholka police about his 'wife', who he says is called Hiral. She left Dabhi after a month of their marriage. Dabhi had paid Rs70,000 for her.

A strange phenomenon, lately spotted in the town of Dholka, 100 km away from Ahmedabad, has gripped its bachelors. In the span of eight months this year the tragic cases of young men who were having a hard time finding a suitable bride, have stunned everyone. These youth have been done in by well-organised gangs. 

Here's the modu operandi. The gang's women members are 'marrying' several men in succession and within a month of tying the knot, they are fleeing from their husband's house taking along with them valuables, cash and jewellery. This peculiar phenomenon -a reflection of the relative paucity of women in the marriage market - has shocked everyone in the police department.

Police found that three women married at least eight men and ran away within one month. According to Dholka police inspector JC Patel, gangs are taking full advantage of the fact that a few communities have relatively few girls, which is why only well-placed men are able to get brides.

"We have observed that in all such cases, bachelors have been approached by the gangs who would target only those men who were not able to find a suitable bride," said Patel.

Naresh Prajapati who had married one Hiral Parmar, said because of his poor economic condition and less number of girls in his society, he was compelled to pay Rs61,000 for the marriage.

Jitendra Dabhi of Rajkot said he found his 'runaway bride' Hiral in a video footage broadcast in a news channel.

The Dholka police have so far arrested over a dozen people in this regard including four women.