Mumbai: Man held for duping women of lakhs through matrimonial sites

The unit-7 of Mumbai polices crime branch nabbed Vishal alias Anurag Chavan, a resident of Kalyan east, on Monday, an official said.The fraud came to light, when a 28-year-old woman approached Kanjurmarg police station in the eastern suburbs with a complaint of cheating, he said.

A 34-year-old man from neighbouring Thane district has been arrested for allegedly cheating at least 35 women of lakhs after getting in touch with them through matrimonial sites and social media, police said on Tuesday. The unit-7 of Mumbai police's crime branch nabbed Vishal alias Anurag Chavan, a resident of Kalyan (east), on Monday, an official said.

The fraud came to light, when a 28-year-old woman approached Kanjurmarg police station in the eastern suburbs with a complaint of cheating, he said. The woman alleged that Chavan had contacted her after seeing her profile on a matrimonial site, and had promised to marry her after chatting with her for a few days, he said. The accused then asked the complainant to give him Rs 2.25 lakh to invest with a promise of good returns, the official said.

Soon after the complainant deposited the money, the accused stopped responding to her messages and she realised that she had been cheated, he said. An FIR under section 420 (cheating) of the IPC was registered at Kanjurmarg police station. During the probe, the police found that the accused had used a fake picture and address on the matrimonial site, and subsequently traced him to Thane district based on technical inputs, the official said.

A policeman disguised as a food delivery agent apprehended the accused, who had locked himself in a room, he said.

The accused has revealed that he had cheated at least 35 women in a similar manner of up to Rs 15 lakh, he said. Chavan has also allegedly posed as a senior executive in a prominent mobile company and cheated people of Rs 20 lakh by promising mobile phones in low cost, the official said. The accused has a past record of cheating cases at Sion, Versova, Narpoli police stations in Mumbai, he said.

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