A 40 year old widow was conned by a man who cheated her for INR 3.9 lakh through a matrimonial site. The man claimed to be an NRI residing in the United Kingdom. He later contacted her on a matrimonial site where they came to know each other.
The man told that he had to pay the penalty at the New Delhi Airport for carrying diamonds along with excess baggage with him.
Understanding that she was stuck in a fraudulent situation, the victim lodged a complaint with the Adugodi police who have successfully arrested the accused. Arman Malik, the accused was taken into custody under the IPC Section 420 and are further looking into the case to get more insights.
The woman clarified in her complaint that she created a profile on the matrimonial website, Jeevansaathi.com in December 2019 and came around to know Malik who posed himself as a well established NRI based out of UK. Malik also assured the victim that he would come visit India within 5 days and that the two would get married then.
It was later on December 30, 2019 that Malik called the victim in a state of distress and panic claiming that the customs section in the New Delhi airport has caught him for carrying diamonds and excess luggage. He said that he needs to pay a penalty to get through the airport.
Thinking that Malik was actually in trouble and was in need of urgent money, the victim transferred INR 2.7 lakh that day itself followed by INR 1.2 lakh the day after. Following that, she called Malik to get hold of him but found that his phone was switched off.
Again on January 02, 2019, she received another call from Malik asking her to transfer another INR 85,000 to get the remaining packets that he left with the customs at the New Delhi airport.
It was then that the victim realized that she had been conned and lodged a complaint with the police. The police then worked to trace the account and the accused for further progress into the case.
The cases of fraudulency through the matrimonial websites have been on a rampant rise in recent times, especially with that of widows. The cases are increasing gradually with every passing year.
By Somapika Dutta
