In a significant blow, the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur bench has denied anticipatory bail to a woman dubbed the ‘Con Bride,’ who allegedly defrauded seven men of millions of rupees using social media platforms. While the court granted anticipatory bail to three other accused, it held back relief for the main suspect, Sameera Fatima, daughter of Mukhtar Ahmed.
Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke, while denying the bail, underscored the gravity of the accusations against Sameera. She was reportedly involved in deceptive practices that extended beyond mere financial fraud. According to the complaint filed at Gittikhadan police station, Sameera lured the plaintiff, a local businessman, into a trap by initiating contact through Facebook. She then blackmailed him into marriage using compromising photographs taken in a hotel, further intensifying her demands by bringing relatives to his house and creating a scene when he refused to marry her. Her relatives soon began to demand a share in his property and threatened to circulate photos and videos unless they received 10 million rupees.
The police presented documents during the High Court hearing that revealed negotiations to settle the dispute for 10 million rupees. Furthermore, it came to light that Sameera had used her amplified social media presence to deceive other men similarly.
