Moga: A 24-year-old man was left stranded on his wedding day in Moga after allegedly being duped by a woman he met on Instagram and believed to be his bride, a source said Saturday.
Deepak, a labourer from Dubai, returned to Punjab from his workplace last month for his wedding with his long-time girlfriend.
According to the source, he had travelled from his village Mandiali in Jalandhar district to Moga Friday with a baraat of over 150 guests, as requested by the bride’s family. He was set to marry Manpreet Kaur, a woman he had been in a relationship with for nearly three years.
The couple had never met in person but had been in contact via social media and phone calls. After months of online communication, they fixed their wedding date for December 6. Their families had spoken over the phone and arrangements were made for Deepak’s arrival in Moga with the baraat.
However, upon reaching Moga around noon, Deepak found no sign of Manpreet or the wedding venue. The wedding venue told by Manpreet, ‘Rose Garden Palace,’ turned out to be non-existent. Despite several attempts to contact Manpreet, including a promise that relatives would arrive to escort the baraat to the venue, no one appeared. By 5pm, her phone was switched off.
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“When I called her, she told me to wait, but after a few hours, her phone was switched off”, Deepak said.
Frustrated and confused, Deepak and his family filed an FIR with local police. In his statement, Deepak explained that he had only ever seen Manpreet’s photos on Instagram and had doubts about their authenticity. He also claimed to have transferred Rs 50,000 to her after she requested help with wedding expenses.
Prem Chand, Deepak’s father, expressed his disappointment, stating they had been led to believe the wedding was legitimate. “We arrived with a baraat of 150 guests because they insisted. We spent a lot of money on decorations, sweets and hiring a photographer. This is pure cheating.”
The police initiated an investigation into the case.
PNN