A woman, who allegedly married unsuspecting men and then escaped with their cash and gold, tested HIV positive in prison after she was arrested by Uttar Pradesh police. Lodged in Muzaffarnagar jail with six others, she was part of a gang operating in the state and neighbouring Uttarakhand, police said.
This has now put health authorities in both the states in a fix, and they are now desperately looking for the men she allegedly duped. According to reports, the woman, who was arrested on May 6, tested positive for HIV upon medical examination at the district hospital and is now undergoing antiretroviral therapy (ART).
In a report published by Times of India, jail superintendent Sitaram Sharma said efforts are on in Muzaffarnagar and other regions of UP to trace the men she came in physical contact with. “Once in jail, her medical examination was conducted at the district hospital where her HIV-positive status was confirmed. Ever since, her ART has been going on,” Sharma was quoted as saying.
The report said health officials in Uttarakhand, meanwhile, confirmed that three men she was with have tested HIV positive. These tests were conducted by the health department of Udham Singh Nagar in collaboration with an NGO, and these infected men are undergoing ART as well while their family members are being tested.
Police told ToI that the woman, who is in her 20s, was part of a gang that specialised in arranging marriages with local residents. As she posed as the bride, other members of the gang would become her relatives to throw off suspicion, they said.
A number of cheating cases were reported from parts of UP and Uttarakhand, following which police launched an investigation and arrested seven members of the gang, including the woman and her mother. The woman told police that she had been “married five times”, including the three men from Uttarakhand. But, police suspect there could be more such cases.
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