Gujarat family faked marriage for UK entry of woman, promised Rs 3.5 lakh to ‘husband’: Police on ‘divorce’ after dispute over money
UK resident Rizwan Meda (‘husband’), Taslimabanu Karbhari (‘wife’), her brother Rizwan and a lawyer who created a fake divorce decree of Bharuch court booked for forgery, criminal conspiracy; police say sufficient ground for UK authorities to deport first 3 accused
4 min readVadodaraUpdated: Jan 8, 2026 07:47 AM IST
“The (UK) authorities will begin the process to deport them once they receive the information about the criminal case lodged against the three accused persons. There is sufficient ground for the UK authorities to deport the accused. We will arrest them whenever they land in India,” Chaudhary added.
Police Inspector of Bharuch district’s Palej police station Wednesday said his team had unravelled a plot of illegal immigration that involved a fake marriage and fake divorce in a bid to secure entry for a Bharuch-based woman on dependent visa into the United Kingdom.
The plot was unearthed after the ‘husband’ in the fake marriage approached the Bharuch district police to lodge a complaint against the ‘wife’ following a dispute over the decided sum of Rs 3.5 lakh to execute the illegal immigration.
Palej Police Inspector Anand Chaudhary told The Indian Express that the criminal conspiracy of the illegal immigration was unearthed after Rizwan Meda, a native of Valan village in Bharuch district and currently residing in the UK, had approached the district police in October last year through a Power of Authority given to a friend, Minhaz Yaqub Ughrardhar.
Chaudhary said, “The application was made as the parties allegedly had a dispute over the payment of the promised money by the woman’s family… During the investigation, we realised that Meda and the co-accused had conspired to forge marriage certificates (nikahnamas) as well as a decree of divorce to complete the entire process of illegal immigration.”
Chaudhary said that the plot was hatched in February 2024 when Meda used a forged marriage registration certificate — a nikaahnama– showing Jambusar resident Taslimabanu Karbhari as his wife and initiated the process to apply for a UK visa for Taslimabanu through an agent, Shoaib Dawood Ikhkharia. The visa process was completed based on the fake marriage certificate and Taslimabanu moved to the UK, as per the plan.
“After this, there was a dispute over the financial consideration between the two parties. They had promised a sum of Rs 3.5 lakhs to Meda for the process as well as a fake decree of divorce… In the meanwhile, Meda wanted to actually get married and bring his genuine wife to the UK. But due to the dispute, he approached the Bharuch police. Meanwhile, Taslimabanu’s brother, Faizal, approached a lawyer, Sajid Kothiya of Kanthariya, to create a fake divorce decree of the Bharuch court, in order to ‘free’ Meda from the liability of having Taslimabanu on dependent visa,” Chaudhary said.
Taslimabanu and Meda used the forged divorce decree as a genuine document to complete their ‘separation’in the UK, where Taslimabanu was living with help from her brother Faizal, also a UK resident.
Meda, Taslimabanu, Rizwan and Kothiya have been booked under Sections 467 (forgery of a valuable security), 468 (committing forgery for the purpose of cheating), and 471 (fraudulently or dishonestly using a forged document as genuine), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 177 (furnishing false information) and 114 (crime committed in presence of abettor) of the Indian Penal Code.
While Kothiya has escaped to Canada anticipating police action, the Bharuch district police have initiated the process to communicate to the British High Commission and Embassy about the case lodged against Meda as well as the Karbhari siblings, who are currently residing in the UK, Chaudhary said.
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“The (UK) authorities will begin the process to deport them once they receive the information about the criminal case lodged against the three accused persons. There is sufficient ground for the UK authorities to deport the accused. We will arrest them whenever they land in India,” Chaudhary added.
Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues.
Expertise:
Core Authority & Specialization: Her reporting is characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the complex factors shaping Central Gujarat, which comprises a vast tribal population, including:
Politics and Administration: In-depth analysis of dynamics within factions of political parties and how it affects the affairs in the region, visits of national leaders making prominent statements, and government policy decisions impacting the population on ground.
Crucial Regional Projects: She consistently reports on the socio-economic and political impact of infrastructure projects in the region, especially the Statue of Unity, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail bullet train project as well as the National Highway infrastructure.
Social Justice and Human Rights: Her reporting offers deep coverage of sensitive human-interest topics, including gender, crime, and tribal issues. Her reports cover legal proceedings from various district courts as well as the Gujarat High Court (e.g., the Bilkis Bano case remission, POCSO court orders, Public Interest Litigations), the plight of tribal communities, and broader social conflicts (e.g., Kheda flogging case).
Local Impact & Disaster Reporting: Excels in documenting the immediate impact of events on communities, such as the political and civic fallout of the Vadodara floods, the subsequent public anger, and the long-delayed river redevelopment projects, Harni Boat Tragedy, Air India crash, bringing out a blend of stories from the investigations as well as human emotions.
Special Interest Beat: She tracks incidents concerning Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRIs) including crime and legal battles abroad, issues of illegal immigration and deportations, as well as social events connecting the local Gujarati experience to the global diaspora. ... Read More
