DORAHA, July 18 — The desire to settle abroad turned into a nightmare for seven bachelors from Punjab, who were allegedly duped out of lakhs of rupees by a Ludhiana-based woman using her daughter’s photos and video calls to stage fake engagements. The woman, Sukhdarshan Kaur, allegedly posed her daughter Harpreet, currently residing in Canada on a work permit, as a potential bride for men desperate to emigrate.
Police in Doraha have arrested Sukhdarshan and two other accused after multiple victims came forward, revealing a well-orchestrated fraud targeting those seeking both marriage and a way into Canada. “So far, seven men have approached us with similar complaints. The modus operandi in each case was identical,” said Doraha SHO Inspector Akash Dutt.
According to police, Sukhdarshan would identify potential grooms through matrimonial advertisements and claim her daughter Harpreet was living in Surrey, Canada, after completing her education. Harpreet, 24, would then speak to the grooms over video calls, assuring them of a wedding soon. In some instances, framed photos of Harpreet were placed in engagement ceremonies that took place in person — or held entirely via video call.
“Sukhdarshan Kaur would tell the grooms’ families that she had taken huge loans to send her daughter abroad and needed financial help to recover the cost,” said Inspector Dutt. “She would demand between ₹15 to ₹18 lakh per family, and all payments were made through bank transfers, lending an illusion of credibility.”
To build further trust, Sukhdarshan would personally visit the victims’ homes with sweets and gifts, presenting the engagements as genuine. Victims told police they sold land, livestock, and even took loans to fulfill the payments, convinced that marriage would bring with it a ticket to Canada.
But after the ‘engagements’, the weddings never happened. “She kept making excuses, then eventually stopped taking calls,” one of the duped men from Bathinda told police.
The scam unravelled when a planned ‘engagement’ at a Doraha hotel on July 10 — involving a man from Khanna — was tipped off to police. Like in earlier cases, Harpreet was not present, and her framed photo was used instead. The whistleblower had reportedly received a WhatsApp voice note from Sukhdarshan that had been mistakenly sent to him. The audio allegedly revealed details of the fraud, including discussions on pending payments.
Police said Harpreet was not directly involved in any physical event in India but had appeared in video calls for several such engagements.
“We’ve registered a case under Sections 316(2) [criminal breach of trust], 318(4) [cheating], and 61(2) [criminal conspiracy] of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita,” Inspector Dutt said. “Three arrests have been made, and further investigation is underway.”
The victims, lured by the twin promise of marriage and migration, are now left in financial and emotional distress. Many are demanding strict punishment for the accused and urging others not to fall prey to similar scams.
