Victim of fraud on matrimonial app, woman lays trap to nab cheat

According to deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Jitendra Kumar Meena, the victim, with the police’s nod, coached another woman to lure the suspect into the police’s net.

A failed businessman took to a matrimonial site to allegedly pose as a rich bachelor who owns expensive cars and farmhouses in NCR to allegedly dupe a 26-year-old Delhi woman of over ₹3 lakh, police said on Friday after arresting the man.

The accused, identified as Vishal Balyan, holds an MBA degree and worked in the human resource department for a multinational company (MNC) in Gurugram until 2021. (HT Photo)

According to deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Jitendra Kumar Meena, the victim, with the police’s nod, coached another woman to lure the suspect into the police’s net.

“We have arrested the 26-year-old suspect, Vishal Balyan. We are investigating his possible involvement in cheating other women on matrimonial sites,” said Meena.

Balyan, who belongs to Muzaffarnagar, holds an MBA degree and worked in the human resource department for a multinational company (MNC) in Gurugram until 2021. He then opened a restaurant in the same city that failed during the second wave of Covid-19 the same year, said the police. To be able to maintain his “lavish lifestyle”, he allegedly decided to use matrimonial websites to dupe women seeking grooms, Meena said. On the matrimonial site, Balyan changed his name to Vishal Raghuvanshi, police said.

A woman he allegedly targeted is a resident of northwest Delhi’s Keshavpuram. She also works in a multinational company in Gurugram and was looking for a groom when she came across Raghuvanshi’s profile on a matrimonial site in February. “Balyan claimed to be working for a MNC in Gurugram and drawing an annual salary of ₹50-70 lakh. The woman liked the profile, they exchanged phone numbers and the two began conversing on WhatsApp,” said the DCP.

A senior police officer, who asked not to be named, said that Balyan posed as an orphan whose grandparents live in America.

To make the woman believe that he was very rich, Balyan allegedly began sending her photos of expensive cars such as Mercedes, Audi and Porsche in March and seek her suggestion on which car to buy, said the DCP. In the meantime, he allegedly rented a Tata Nexon car for a fortnight by paying ₹2,500 per day to have her believe that he already owned a car and was looking to buy a much more expensive vehicle. “He also showed her photoss of different farmhouses and villas in NCR to pass them off as his own,” the DCP said.

The police officer anonymously quoted above said that the properties that Balyan passed off as his own included a bungalow belonging to the relative of a national political leader. “Balyan would also pass off hotel rooms as his bedroom and their parks as his backyard,” said the officer.

In addition, Balyan allegedly told the woman that he ran a chain of successful restaurants in Gurugram.

“Once the victim was convinced of the status he was trying to portray, Balyan told her that he could arrange the latest iPhone model at a price much cheaper than the market rate by sourcing the phones from his grandparents. The woman ended up transferring ₹3.05 lakh to him as payment for several iPhones that she wanted to buy for her relatives and friends,” the DCP said.

Once Balyan got the money, he allegedly cut all ties with her and blocked her on social media after telling her that he met an accident and was hospitalized in Jaipur.

Once the victim realised shehad beens cheated, she reached out to the police in early April.

“The victim told us that Balyan’s matrimonial profile was still active. So, we reached out to a woman who had a profile on the same matrimonial website. As planned, that woman showed interest in Balyan’s profile who quickly got back to her. The victim then began guiding that woman on the type of conversation she could have with him to lure him into attempting the same modus operandi with her as well,” said another police officer not authorised to speak to the media.

The plan worked as Balyan allegedly reacted the same way that the police and the victim had expected. Balyan allegedly posed as the same rich bachelor and began a conversation with the woman.

The woman managed to lure the suspect into meeting her in Gurugram, and then dropping her to a neighbourhood in west Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh where a police team lay in wait on Tuesday.

Balyan has been booked for cheating.