The Thane police on Saturday has arrested six for allegedly duping a 48-year-old woman of around Rs 1 crore by luring her with a fake matrimony profile and then demanding money from her.
According to the police, the two main accused Yadnyesh Philip (53) and Umesh Shetty (39), used to hoodwink women by uploading fake profiles, presenting the grooms as rich and handsome on matrimonial and other social networking websites, and then take money from the women promising to marry them.
There are 17 more people involved in the crime. “We arrested the two main accused from the city based on a complaint filed by the woman. Four others who helped them were arrested later. The arrested accused had duped the woman of Rs 1 crore,” said a police officer.
“Philip came across the complainant on a matrimonial site,” said the officer. “Both of them chatted for several months. Philip told the woman that he had a family business in Malaysia. The woman had gotten divorced in 1998 and was living with her only son. She was looking to remarry. She liked Philip. After a month, the accused sought money from her stating that he is facing losses and needed money,” the officer said.
According to a police officer, the woman provided the money in several instalments. However, after he got the money, the accused started avoiding her, following which she grew suspicious and lodged a complaint with the Dombivali police station.
