Shrenik Pandit (32),an NRI from Australia,would drive a girl in a swanky car,stop in front of a temple,take out a small box from his pocket,and apply sindoor on the girls forehead. Then,he would declare her to be her wife. Have tu maari patni chhe (Now you are my wife), is what Pandit,a mechanical engineer,said to three girls outside a temple in Ahmedabad at different times. Also,he promised to marry 17 more,including three widows,across Gujarat. His marriage spree came to an end on Wednesday when the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) arrested him from a city multiplex while he was enjoying a movie with a girl. The arrest was based on complaints lodged with the Karanj police station by a few girls cheated by him. The DCB said Pandit,who is married and has a 10-year-old daughter,came from Australia to meet girls here and marry them only to have physical relationship with them. DCB Inspector K K Patel said: Pandit comes as a case of cyber-sex maniac. His online profile and chats with women were also related to sex. His motive to marry many girls was only to develope physical relationship with them. He added that after meeting girls and spending time,he would remain unreachable for many days. He had an easy market in Gujarat where many girls look forward to having an NRI husband. He married three girls from Ahmedabad and trapped widows and lured them with the promise of giving Rs 15 to 20 lakh for their childrens future and promised to marry them, he added. The DCB added that Pandit used to make fake profile on Bharat Matrimonial website with the name Rohit Patel and claimed he was single. Girls started contacting him and liked him,as he was smart and well educated. He promised all the girls to marry them in India,make their visas,and take them to Australia. Once his plan was put into action,he would give different appointments to different girls and went on dates. After Ahmedabad,he was to travel to Vadodara,Surat and other places for the same purpose. While nine victims are from Ahmedabad,the DCB said there are chances that girls from Mumbai,MP and other neighbouring areas have also been victimised. Pandit,a supervisor at a spare-parts company in Australia,is a native of Keshod. He stayed at Jai Shefali Row House in the Satellite area of Ahmedabad with his parents. He went to Australia in 2001 after working as a mechanical engineer at a private firm here.
