Mumbai: Woman who had fake wedding with foreigner held

Representation pic

The Azad Maidan police have arrested Shanti Surendra Naik, a 32-year-old woman from Goa, in connection with the OCI (overseas citizen of India) scam. Foreigners have been marrying Indian nationals to secure permanent Indian visas, using falsified marriage documents and exploiting poor women. Naik had been on the run since 2021, after an FIR was registered against her and her fake Canadian national husband by the OCI wing of Mumbai police's special branch. Her fake husband is still absconding.

The Azad Maidan police reported that Naik was located in Goa and brought to Mumbai on Tuesday. The court granted the police two days custody to investigate the matter. The FIR against Naik and her fake husband, Daniel Harris Akler, was registered on August 4, 2021, in connection with the scam. The FIR also named another couple, Jyoti Krishna Vishe and her fake husband, UK national David John Lincoln, for engaging in a similar fake marriage. Both Vishe, Lincoln are absconding.

Also Read: Mumbai: Two arrested for assaulting police constable in Vakola

Naik, who is currently in custody, has told the police that she was paid Rs 1 lakh for the fake marriage. Naik also claimed that the Canadian national promised to take her to Canada, but disappeared after securing the OCI. "We are searching for him, and it appears that he is somewhere in India," an officer from Azaad Maidan police stated.

The scam came to light in June 2021 when the OCI Unit of Mumbai Police's Special Branch (II) booked a Russian national, Yuri Gubano, for obtaining OCI on the basis of false marriage documents with an Indian national. "Senior officials ordered a thorough check of all OCI applications. During this, two more couples were found to have used false documents to obtain OCI, and an FIR was filed," said an officer from the Special Branch.

Two applications for OCI by Akler and Lincoln came under suspicion after they received their OCI cards in 2019. Further scrutiny of both applications revealed a significant age gap between the couples. The officials then verified their marriage certificates from BMC and found them to be fake, resulting in a case being registered against them.