In May 2026, a major mass-marriage scam was exposed in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, where 42 grooms were left stranded at the altar. A local couple charged each family between ₹15,000 and ₹25,000, falsely promising to arrange marriages with women from an Indore orphanage using fake photos downloaded from social media. The 42 grooms and their wedding processions arrived at the designated venue for the ceremony, but after waiting from morning until midnight, neither the organizers nor the brides showed up. Following protests by the duped families, the Dewas police registered a fraud case and arrested the prime accused couple, Mukesh and Sunita Bairagi.