Four, including foreigner held for duping Gurugram woman of ₹16 lakh

Investigators said the suspects posed as doctors, engineers and information technology (IT) professionals and got in touch with women on the matrimonial apps and took money from them on the pretext of clearing customs fees for gifts

Updated on: Apr 6, 2023, 23:58:48 IST

By Leena Dhankhar

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The cyber crime team of Gurugram police arrested four fraudsters, including a Nigerian national for allegedly cheating several Indian women on matrimonial applications, police said on Thursday. Police said they have also recovered 25 mobile phones, 65 ATM cards, 34 cheque books and 12 passbooks from their possession.

Four, including foreigner held for duping Gurugram woman of ₹16 lakh

Investigators said the suspects posed as doctors, engineers and information technology (IT) professionals and got in touch with women on the matrimonial apps and took money from them on the pretext of clearing customs fees for gifts.

The suspects were identified as Chibaka alias Tall Issa of Nigeria and Delhi residents Aman Kumar (26), Rahul Singh (28), and Santosh Kumar (38), police said.

Assistant commissioner of police (cyber) Priyanshu Diwan said the suspects had formed a gang and were operating from Delhi for the last few months. “The Nigerian was the kingpin of the gang and met the other suspects in Laxmi Nagar area of Delhi. They used to scan profiles of the victims on matrimonial sites and later befriended them on social media such as Instagram and Facebook,” he said.

ACP Diwan said they cracked down on the gang members after a 36-year-old woman complained on March 22 that she was duped of ₹16 lakh.

The victim alleged that on January 26 this year, she received a friend request from an Instagram ID in which the person introduced himself as a doctor living in the United Kingdom.

“We exchanged our numbers and started chatting on WhatsApp. The suspect said he would be sending some gold items and 20,000 UK pounds. On January 30, I received a call from a woman who introduced herself as an employee of a courier company in Mumbai and said that gold and foreign currency had arrived in my name,” said Sampa Pal, a resident of DLF Phase-4.

The woman asked the victim to deposit ₹55,000 as tax and after receiving the money, she again asked to deposit ₹3,27,920. Again, on February 2, the suspect asked her to deposit ₹3 lakh followed by ₹2.98 lakh. “It did not stop here and in total I deposited ₹16 lakh within a week and realised that I had been cheated as they were asking me to deposit another ₹7.26 lakh,” said Pal.

Police said after conducting an investigation, a case was registered under Section 120 B (conspiracy), 419 (impersonating) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Cyber Crime police station on February 17.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said they traced the internet protocol (IP) addresses of the suspects, and a raid was conducted by a team led by Jasvir Singh, station house officer (SHO) of the Cyber Crime police station and the suspects were arrested from different places in Delhi on Wednesday night.

“During questioning, the suspects revealed that the Nigerian man was deported from Mumbai eight years ago, who returned to India on a Schengen visa and another passport. We are still verifying whether his passport is original or forged. He was continuously active in committing matrimonial frauds,” ACP Sangwan said.

Police said the gang had opened more than 100 bank accounts that were used by them to transfer money. One of them used to withdraw money through ATMs from different areas and many times travelled to another city to evade being identified by police, said police.

ACP Sangwan said the suspects were cheating women for months in the name of sending/receiving gifts. “In many cases, the victims received calls from Mumbai airport officials who told them that their friend had been detained for carrying pounds/US dollars and expensive gifts. They were asked to pay money in lakhs to “register” the valuables. The victims were then asked to spend more money in the name of securing the gifts and freeing their friends,” he said.

Police said their teams immediately started analysing the chats, transactions, IP addresses and call details to trace the suspects.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Leena Dhankhar
Leena Dhankhar is Senior Editor and Bureau Chief, Gurugram, at Hindustan Times, where she has spent over 17 years chronicling the transformation of one of India's fastest-growing urban regions. From starting her career as a crime reporter to leading the Gurugram bureau, her journalism has been defined by investigative reporting, in-depth storytelling and an unwavering focus on public interest. Over nearly two decades, she has reported extensively across crime, politics, civic governance, elections, real estate, environment, courts, sports, education and entertainment, covering Gurugram, Faridabad, Nuh and Palwal. Her reporting has exposed several major scams and systemic failures, including insurance frauds, waste management irregularities, illegal arms manufacturing units in Nuh, illegal mining in the Aravallis, organised crime networks and governance lapses affecting millions of residents. Known for her investigative work and exclusive stories, Leena has reported on high-impact national issues, including the Nicaragua charter flight carrying Indian migrants that was turned back amid allegations of human trafficking, exposing the growing network of illegal immigration rackets. Her work has also focused on gang wars, prison administration, juvenile crime, women and child protection systems, the functioning of the Juvenile Justice Board and Child Welfare Committee, and environmental challenges such as pollution, waterlogging and deteriorating civic infrastructure. Beyond hard news, Leena has extensively documented Haryana's rich heritage, forests and wildlife, bringing attention to the state's historical landmarks, biodiversity, conservation efforts and ecological challenges through immersive reportage and feature writing. Her journalism has consistently gone beyond breaking news. She has documented Gurugram's rapid urbanisation through long-form narratives and enterprise reporting on issues ranging from pothole-ridden roads, flooding and waste management to the changing social fabric of India's Millennium City. She also writes widely read feature columns, including The Outsider, Changemaker, and Concern for Gurugram, profiling people, places and ideas shaping the city's identity. Leena is the author of Gurugram School Murder, published by Juggernaut Books, a deeply reported account of one of India's most high-profile school murder investigations. She is currently working on her second book, an investigative work exploring some of India's most significant scams and fraud investigations. Beyond print journalism, she has expanded her storytelling through public speaking and digital media. She is a TEDx speaker and has produced podcasts exploring Gurugram's transformation, civic challenges and untold stories. Her work reflects a commitment to narrative journalism that combines rigorous reporting with compelling storytelling. A law graduate with an MBA in Human Resources, Leena brings a multidisciplinary perspective to her reporting, particularly on governance, public policy and legal affairs. She has travelled extensively across India to pursue investigative assignments, often reporting from remote locations and conflict-prone areas in search of stories that matter.Read More