15 women duped on matrimony site, 2 held from Ahmedabad

A day later, Shah proposed to her and said that he was a diamond trader and had business in South Africa and Mumbai. Shah then told her that she should invest in his business as he would return her double the amount in two days, which would help in financing her dream wedding

MUMBAI: Two men were arrested from Ahmedabad for allegedly cheating several women in a matrimony fraud scam. On November 4, the complainant, Nupur Mehta, approached the police, saying that the accused had promised her marriage and lured her into investing ₹7 lakh in his business through online payments.

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According to the police, Mehta had posted her profile on a matrimony website looking for suitable grooms. On November 1, a man named Vaibhav Shah, 30, sent her a request to connect. Mehta, who wanted to marry a man from her community, accepted the request and began talking to Shah.

A day later, Shah proposed to her and said that he was a diamond trader and had business in South Africa and Mumbai. Shah then told her that she should invest in his business as he would return her double the amount in two days, which would help in financing her dream wedding.

Mehta accepted the proposal and sent Shah ₹7 lakh through online payment. After receiving the money, Shah deleted his profile from the website and switched off his mobile phone, which made Mehta realised that she had been cheated. Mehta lodged a complaint with the police, and they tracked the online transaction and the bank account owner to Ahmedabad.

The police arrested Shah, whose real identity was revealed as Anil Solanki, 37, and also arrested Solanki’s accomplice Navitbhai Patel, 43.

After further investigation, the police found out that Solanki and Patel had made multiple profiles of themselves and posted them on various matrimony websites. “The two confessed to have cheated at least 15 women by using the same modus operandi including, a doctor from Pune a few months ago,” said a police officer from Borivali police station. The two accused have been arrested under sections under section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 66 (C) (identity theft) and 66 (D) (cheating by personation by using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

After the Borivali police posted the details of the arrested on the WhatsApp group of Mumbai police officials, they learnt that Solanki was arrested in 2021 by the Mumbai West region Cyber police for allegedly duping an Andheri based 31-year-old doctor to the tune of ₹21 lakh by using a fake identity on a popular matrimonial site. Solanki had uploaded his profile as Kshitij Desai, claiming to be a Borivli resident, to target the Andheri doctor.

Solanki was arrested by the police from Goa when he was found splurging the victim’s money in a casino. He had told the doctor that he was a share market trader and had lured her into investing the money in the share market. Like the Andheri doctor, Solanki has cases registered against him at VP Road police and is wanted in a similar case in Shivaji Park and Kandivali police stations.

Police officials said the class 12 drop-out created a profile on a popular matrimonial site, posing as a stock trader. Solanki would upload his photographs on the sites and lure women to fall for his handsome looks, they added.