‘Lutera dulha’ targeted single women, married over 20 of them

Police created a woman’s profile on an online platform and contacted the accused. After some conversation, they called him to Kalyan for a meeting and apprehended him there

MUMBAI: In 2020, Kainaz lost her husband to the Covid-19 pandemic. Subsequently urged by her family to start afresh and find a companion for herself and a father for her three children, she put her grief aside and uploaded her profile on a matrimonial site. It was here, on October 20, 2023, that she met Firoz Niyazi Shaikh.

‘Lutera dulha’ targeted single women, married over 20 of them

After a few days of conversation, the 47-year-old widow’s impression of Firoz was that he was from a good family and had a good standing in society. Ecstatic about starting a new life with him, she began trusting him and believing everything he told her about himself. Not in her wildest nightmares did she imagine that Firoz was a serial cheater who had duped many women like her and would soon abandon her and make off with her jewellery and phone.

When reality struck, Kainaz was shattered. For nine months, unable to come to terms with the betrayal, she stewed in silence. Then on July 26 this year, when she learnt that Firoz had been arrested in Nalasopara for marrying and cheating a woman called Roza of ₹6 lakh, she knew that she could not sit still any longer.

Kainaz is the latest victim to lodge a complaint against Firoz with the Vapi police on August 20. By then, the 43-year-old scamster had deceived at least 20 other women by “marrying” or promising to marry them. Firoz, who has been given the sobriquet ‘Lutera Dulha’ (Robber Bridegroom) by the Nalasopara police, confessed to them that he had “married” at least 20 women. Until now, there have been nine FIRs registered against him in Kharghar, Vile Parle and Ghatkopar police stations in Mumbai, Khalapur police station in Raigad district, Bhosari and Hadapsar police stations in Pune district, and others in Nashik and Vapi.

Shaikh, who told Kainaz he was a co-pilot, began talking to her online on October 27, 2023. Within a week they decided to tie the knot. “Firoz wanted to get married within three days,” said Kainaz. “However, I told him that I first wanted to meet his nine-year-old daughter and sister who stayed in Saudi Arabia.”

By then, Kainaz had begun trusting Firoz completely. “We shared every aspect of our lives, including monetary issues,” she said. “I did not want to start a new relationship by lying or hiding anything. I even told Firoz about the property my husband had left behind and the fact that I had used my jewellery to get a loan after his death. This gave him an idea of the valuables I possessed.”

On November 3, Firoz told Kainaz that his sister was coming to Vapi for a wedding and she could meet his family there. He convinced her that she needed to be adorned with jewellery and look her best to make a favourable impression. “At that point I had no idea that he was married to Roza and living in Nalasopara with her,” said Kainaz ruefully.

On November 3, the two set out for Vapi in a cab along with Kainaz’s bag containing jewellery worth ₹15 lakh. “Firoz wanted me to leave the bag in the cab when we went to a restaurant for breakfast, so that he could dump me there and flee,” said Kainaz. “I suspect he spiked my juice because after that I had started feeling groggy. But I carried my bag with me everywhere.”

At the hotel, Firoz asked her to put the bag in her room and leave with him for a beauty salon appointment which he had already booked. “At the salon, he took my phone and left, claiming that he had to coordinate for the wedding and that his mobile battery had died,” she said.

After the make-up, Kainaz waited for two hours in the salon but Firoz did not turn up. With no money or phone, she went to the hotel, where she found that her bag and the jewellery in it had gone. “I had to sell my last piece of jewellery, a bracelet, to pay the salon, the hotel and my return fare,” she said. “I reached home and fell on the bed unconscious. After three days, when I came to, I realised that I had been cheated.”

When Kainaz met Roza, the latter told her that Firoz had given her the phone he stole after formatting it. “Heartbroken and angry, I then approached the Nalasopara police,” said Kainaz. “The police asked me to go to the Vapi police, as the incident had taken place in their jurisdiction. I did that. However, despite repeated reminders, the Vapi police have not even bothered to apply for Firoz’s custody from the court to investigate my case.”

Roza’s complaint, which spurred Kainaz to file her own, was registered on July 20. Vijay Singh Bagal, an officer at Nalasopara police station, said that the 40-year-old widow approached them after Firoz married her and took ₹6 lakh from her to buy a car and laptop.

After registering Roza’s case, the police began their investigation but did not have any photos or contact numbers of the accused, as he frequently changed his phone number. To trap him, they created a woman’s profile on an online platform and contacted him. After some conversation, they called him to Kalyan for a meeting and apprehended him there.

The police recovered ₹3 lakh and some valuables from the accused. They also seized women’s ATM cards, cheque books, six mobile phones, laptops and documents along with gold and silver jewellery. They are currently in the process of preparing the chargesheet and have appealed to women cheated by Firoz to come forward to register complaints.

Firoz Shaikh’s modus operandi

A native of Prayagraj district of Uttar Pradesh, Firoz Shaikh lived with a woman in Belapur, Navi Mumbai, while cheating others. The investigating officer said that he would depict himself as a co-pilot, a senior banker working with the Reserve Bank of India or a high-ranking officer with the Life Insurance Corporation of India to lure women.

Shaikh, who is currently lodged in Thane Jail, primarily targeted relatively well-off single women, mostly widows or divorcees. Police sub-inspector Harshal Raut from Nalasopara police station said that he confessed to going after widows and divorcees, as it was easier for him to emotionally manipulate them by promising them the support they needed.

Shaikh used two accounts on a matrimonial website—under the names Vinay Rajput and Feroze Shaikh—to target both Hindu and Muslim widows and divorcees. Charm and flattery were the two weapons he used to develop intimate relations with a woman within days of meeting her. He impressed women with his profile and status in society, sweet-talking them into developing trust.