Kajal in Gujarat, Seema in Haryana, Neha in Bihar: Who is ‘Daku Dulhan’ Gulshana Riaz Khan?

LUCKNOW: She posed as Kajal in Gujarat, Seema in Haryana, Neha in Bihar, and Sweety in Uttar Pradesh. In reality, she is Gulshana Riaz Khan, 21 years old but already married at least 12 times, each wedding part of a carefully scripted con.
Her story always followed the same dramatic arc: a hurried match, a lavish wedding and a sudden ‘abduction’ just hours later, along with all the groom’s valuables.
Read related story: Unhappily ever after: ‘Daku Dulhan’who duped 12 grooms arrested in UP
Gulshana, now dubbed ‘Daku Dulhan’ by the police, was arrested on Thursday along with eight members of her gang near Kasadaha village under Baskhari police limits in Ambedkar Nagar.
The group, comprising five women and four men, ran a highly coordinated marriage racket across multiple states, targeting vulnerable families struggling to find suitable matches for their sons.

Police said the gang ran a coordinated marriage racket across several states, targeting families struggling to find matches for their sons through matrimonial sites and social media. Gulshana, using multiple aliases, would pose as a prospective bride and gain the trust of the groom’s family.
A ‘settlement amount’—a payment from the groom’s family for finalising the alliance—would be negotiated. Then came the big fat wedding, followed by a swift disappearance.
“Soon after the rituals, the bride would vanish in a staged abduction by gang members on motorcycles. By the time the groom raised an alarm, the entire group would have switched identities and moved on,” said SP Keshav Kumar.
Police added that Gulshana is legally married to Riyaz Khan, a tailor from Jaunpur, who was aware of and benefited from her serial scams. He reportedly received a 5% cut from each con.

The gang’s cover blew after they duped Sonu, a resident of Rohtak, Haryana, of Rs 80,000. Hours after the wedding, when his bride disappeared, Sonu contacted the UP police via emergency helpline 112.
Acting swiftly, Ambedkar Nagar police sealed exit points and caught one gang member, who led them to the others.
Among those arrested were Mohanlal (34) of Jind, Ratan Kumar Saroj (32), Ranjan alias Ashu Gautam (22), and Manju Mali (29) from Jaunpur, and Rahul Raj (30), Sanno alias Sunita (36), Poonam (33), and Rukhsar (21) from Ambedkar Nagar.
Police recovered Rs 72,000 in cash, a motorcycle, 11 mobile phones, a gold mangalsutra, and three fake Aadhaar cards.

Investigators said the gang had clear roles. The women, led by Gulshana, handled the social front—building trust, faking documents, and convincing families. The men executed the getaway.
SP Kumar said a case has been registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy. “The gang has confessed to at least 12 such crimes, and more victims are expected to come forward,” he said.