Vimal Karia, a man from Porbandar, Gujarat, sought an annulment of his marriage after discovering that his wife, Rita Das, was a wanted gangster from Assam. The couple had met through a matrimonial platform, and Rita had mentioned in her profile that she was divorced.
Despite Vimal's request to see her divorce papers before getting married, Rita claimed that she had been married before in a panchayat and did not have an actual wedding certificate. Vimal trusted her, and they got married in Ahmedabad.
However, six months after the wedding, Rita left the house claiming to handle a land matter in Assam, but never returned. Vimal later found out that Rita was actually Rekha Das, a wanted criminal who had been accused of fraud, theft, murder, and hunting by an Assam court. Rekha was on the run and had a non-bailable arrest warrant against her.
Vimal met Rekha via a matrimonial app
When Dainik Bhaskar contacted Rekha for clarification, she admitted that she was still married to Anil Chauhan, who was jailed for car theft.
Rekha denied involvement in the theft, but police claimed that she had secured an entry pass for Anil to enter the Assam Assembly, where the BMW was stolen. Rita had used her friendship with then-MLA Rumi Nath to obtain the pass, but Nath was unaware of Anil's criminal background.
As Vimal was going through the divorce documents, he discovered that his wife's name was Rekha Chauhan, not Sharma. A brief online search verified that Rekha Chauhan is a wanted criminal.
Vimal filed a complaint with the Porbandar SP office, revealing the truth about Rekha's identity and her criminal past. The court granted his request for an annulment of the marriage.
The case highlights the dangers of online matchmaking, where people can misrepresent themselves, and it underscores the importance of being cautious when engaging with strangers online.
