26 July,2020 08:51 AM IST | Mumbai | PTI
This picture has been used for representational purposes
A 34-year-old man has been arrested for reportedly duping several women, especially widows and divorcees, whom he met through matrimonial sites on the pretext of marriage, police said on Sunday.
According to the police, the accused Anchit Chawla posed as a businessman and duped the women of several lakh rupees. He changed his name and location many times to prevent the police from catching him.
The matter came to light after a woman filed a complaint at Ashok Vihar Police Station alleging she was duped by a man named Mudit Chawla, who approached her in December 2018, through a popular matrimonial site. She alleged that Chawla claimed to own a bed sheet factory in southwest Delhi's Palam and that he dealt in renting luxury cars to tour and travel agencies.
He started interacting with her through e-mails, calls, and WhatsApp. He used to demand small amounts from her which he duly repaid to win her confidence. He later convinced her to take personal loans from different banks to recover his business losses, police said.
ALSO READ
Exclusive | Dating app scam: So lucrative, there were three gangs!
CBI arrests ED officer for taking Rs 20 lakh bribe from Mumbai-based jeweller
Goregaon couple found dead, Mumbai cops probe suicide-murder angle
Over 60 missing phone complaints filed with Mumbai Police
Immovable properties worth Rs 52.73 crore attached by ED in Navi Mumbai
The accused duped the woman of Rs 17 lakh till December 2019 on the pretext of marriage. When she insisted on marriage, he started avoiding her, police said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Vijayanta Arya said based on the information provided by the complainant, intelligence was gathered and required details were collected from the matrimonial website. The accused used many profiles with different names to prevent the police from catching him, he said.
"With the help of technical surveillance, our team managed to trace the accused from Palam Vihar Extension in Gurgaon on Friday," the officer said. During investigation, he was found to be previously involved in four other cases of similar nature, the DCP said.
The police said Chawla had in the past posed as security chief of the Special Protection Group in PMO and duped a doctor of Rs 15 lakh on the pretext of getting him a government job. While in another case, he claimed to be the personal security officer (PSO) of a political leader and duped many jewellers, police said. A laptop, two mobile phones, car and Aadhaar cards have been seized from his possession, they added.
Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.
Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever