A woman lost Rs 9.98 lakh to a man she met on a matrimonial website and had even decided to marry the con before realising the fraud. In her complaint to the police, the Thane resident said that she created an account on a matrimonial website about six months ago. On January 9, she came across the profile of a Pune resident. They then started talking to each other over the phone and had plans to tie the nuptial knot.
Two days later, the fraudster sent a WhatsApp message to the complainant, saying that he was in dire need of money. He requested her to transfer Rs 25,000 immediately. Since the woman was intent on marrying him, she sent the money trusting him. Gradually, the con took money from her on various pretexts and fleeced Rs9.98 lakh between January 11 and February 22.
When the complainant asked him to return the money, the accused kept giving evasive replies, making her sense the fraud. The woman then got an offence registered against the fraudster on Monday. A case has been registered under section 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code.
Last year, Mumbai police had registered 13 cases related to matrimonial fraud. Of them, just three cases could be detected, resulting in the arrest of four people.
