West Bengal police have arrested a man named Ashabul Molla for duping and marrying 24 women after forging his identity. The fraudulency came to light after one of his latest victims lodged a police complaint against the accused.
The victim is from the Sagardighi area of Murshidabad. The victim informed the police that the accused had married her and stolen all her jewellery and cash. He had also switched off his mobile phone after fleeing the spot. Based on this complaint, the police investigated the matter and finally arrested the fraudster from the Dattapukur police station area in North 24 Parganas district. Police have also recovered several SIM cards, counterfeit certificates, and cash from his possession.
The police produced Molla in front of the Jangipur court, where he was sentenced to seven days’ remand. While interrogating him, the police found that Molla was a resident of the Kazipada area of Barasat in the North 24 Parganas district. We must highlight that Kazi pada is a predominantly Muslim majority area and locals often allege that the place is infested with Bangladeshi illegals.
Molla’s modus operandi was fixed. He is a daily wage earner who used to repair roads in various districts of West Bengal. He would tell locals that he was an orphan and assume a fake identity every time. He would also procure fake identity cards and start staying in the areas where he was working as construction labour.
While staying in these areas, he would trap a young woman and initiate a romantic relationship with her. The couple would get married, and he would move into his in-laws’ house. While staying with the in-laws, Molla would find where the family kept their gold jewellery and cash. Upon seeing the right opportunity, rob all the valuables and flee.
The police also learned that 28-year-old Ashabul Molla had married 24 women after trapping them in a love affair and ran away after looting their money and jewellery. He would never stay in one place for long and immediately flee after finishing his work. He would execute his fraud shrewdly so that even his neighbours stayed heedless of his activities.
The police are now trying to locate all the other women who Molla had victimized. Police are also trying to ascertain the sum of money and cost of jewellery collected by Molla through forgery so far. Molla had married two young women from the Sagardighi area following the same template, one of who approached the police. Police have also found out that Molla has a wife in Bihar. There are many other “wives” in various districts of West Bengal; all of them have been duped in the same way.
