Navi Mumbai, Feb 27: The Navi Mumbai Police Commissionerate Crime Branch has arrested a 34-year-old man for allegedly posing as an ISRO scientist and a senior Public Works Department (PWD) officer on matrimonial websites, cheating and sexually exploiting multiple educated women, and siphoning off Rs 96.97 lakh. Police have so far detected five cases across Maharashtra and recovered Rs 89.40 lakh from casinos in Goa and bank accounts linked to the accused.
The prime accused, identified as Adarsh Prashant Mhatre (34), a resident of Alibag taluka, was arrested on February 20, while his alleged accomplice and cousin brother Prem Kiran Mhatre (21) from Karanjade in Panvel taluka was arrested on February 26. Both have been remanded to police custody till March 4.
Case registered at Rabale Police Station
According to police, the case first came to light after a complaint was registered at Rabale Police Station under Sections 69, 319(2) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The complainant alleged that the accused, using the fake name “Swapnil Warule” on Shaadi.com, claimed to be an ISRO scientist, gained her trust with a promise of marriage, established physical relations, and later coerced her into taking a pre-approved personal loan on the pretext of purchasing land in Gujarat.
Forged identities and fabricated documents
During the investigation, the Crime Branch found that Mhatre had created forged identity cards claiming employment with ISRO and the Government of India’s PWD department. He also allegedly fabricated Aadhaar cards and personal details such as date of birth, address and education to appear credible.
To project a luxurious lifestyle, he uploaded photographs with high-end cars and at five-star hotels on platforms including Shaadi.com, Jeevansathi.com, Anuroop Vivah Sanstha, Bharat Matrimony, Marathi Shaadi and the dating app Tinder.
Targeting educated women
Police said the accused deliberately targeted highly educated women, including engineers, doctors, government officials and bank officers. He allegedly convinced them to take pre-approved personal loans in their own names and transfer the funds to accounts provided by him. After receiving the money, he sexually exploited the victims and misappropriated the funds.
“While searching for a prospective victim, he would look for only ‘Hindu-Maratha’ women. He used the filters available on the matrimonial sites to run the search as per the caste, income and age. He would prefer women aged between 30 and 35 who are desperate to get married due to societal and family pressure. After meeting them a few times, he would check if they have accounts in ICICI, HDFC or Axis Banks as these banks provide pre-approved loans. Using the pretext of investing in some plots, and falling short of funds, he would ask them to apply for a pre-approved loan,” a police officer privy to the investigations said.
Money spent at casinos and luxury hotels
Police revealed that large portions of the cheated amount were spent at luxury hotels and casinos in Goa. When victims demanded repayment or pressed for marriage, the accused allegedly duped other women using similar tactics to repay earlier victims partially or to service their loan EMIs.
Apart from Rabale, similar offences have been registered at Panvel City Police Station, Manpada Police Station in Thane, Wadala Police Station in Mumbai and Yerawada Police Station in Pune. Additional sections under BNS 336(2), 336(3), 340(1), 340(2) and Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act have been invoked during the probe.
Police advisory and recovery
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sachin Gunjal said, “The accused systematically created a false identity as a senior government official to gain the confidence of educated women on matrimonial platforms. We have recovered a substantial portion of the cheated amount and are verifying whether more victims are involved. Women are advised to verify credentials thoroughly before sharing personal or financial information online,” he said.
Police said Mhatre has a criminal history with multiple cheating cases registered at various police stations in Navi Mumbai, Thane, Mumbai, Pune and Raigad districts and was arrested previously 10 times, and trial in all the cases is pending. Further investigation is underway to trace additional victims and financial transactions.
Use of cousin’s bank account
Since Mhatre’s accounts were frozen during previous arrests, he used his cousin brother’s account for the transactions. The accused is a divorcee and has a seven-year-old son who stays with his wife in Bhopal.
The accused, who is a Class X pass, worked with a real estate firm in Bhopal previously, where he met a Maharashtrian girl who worked with the central government and got married. He was divorced by his wife after she found out about his first case registered with APMC police in 2019.
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Victims create awareness profile
To spread awareness, victims have created his fake profile on social media with his name Adarsh Prashant Mhatre along with screenshots of his chats.
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