New Delhi: Two women have been arrested for allegedly cheating a 67-year-old man of Rs 1.30 lakh after befriending him through a dating app, stealing his mobile phone and using it to transfer money from his bank accounts in southwest Delhi, police said on Wednesday.
The accused allegedly created a fictitious dating profile to establish contact with the elderly complainant, while her associate later met him by impersonating the woman whose profile he had interacted with online, they said.
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The accused have been identified as Jyotsna (26), who allegedly operated the fictitious profile, and Manshi (21), both residents of Delhi, a senior police officer said in a statement.
According to the police, the complainant came in contact with a woman through a dating app and later communicated with her on a messaging application. He subsequently met the woman and her associate in Defence Colony.
"On July 24, the complainant met both women at a restaurant in Defence Colony and had dinner with them. While leaving the restaurant, his mobile phone was allegedly stolen," a senior police officer said.
Subsequently, Rs 1.30 lakh was transferred through UPI from his two bank accounts without his consent, they said.
An e-FIR was registered at the cyber police station of the southwest district on July 25 and an investigation was initiated.
A police team focused on the banking trail, CCTV footage and technical surveillance. Police obtained and analysed KYC documents, account opening forms, bank statements and transaction details of the beneficiary accounts.
"The probe revealed that the cheated money was first transferred to an account maintained in the name of one accused and subsequently moved to another account belonging to her associate. Of the amount, Rs 90,000 was withdrawn through an ATM," the officer said.
CCTV footage showed two women withdrawing the money, providing a crucial lead to investigators. Technical surveillance and analysis of the banking transactions subsequently helped police identify and trace the accused.
During interrogation, the team found that Jyotsna had created and operated the fictitious dating app profile and established contact with the complainant before involving Manshi in the plan. Manshi met the complainant while impersonating the profile holder, making him believe that she was the same woman with whom he had interacted online, police said.
The investigation also revealed that the two women had met the complainant on July 20 and July 24. Police said that during the second meeting, his mobile phone was stolen and subsequently destroyed by the accused in an attempt to eliminate evidence.
Two mobile phones have been recovered from the accused, police said, adding that further investigation was on.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
