62-year-old man duped of ₹16 lakh by matrimonial match

After paying an initial amount of ₹20,000, the accused cited others reasons for getting bigger amounts transferred

PUNE A 62-year-old man, was duped of ₹16 lakh by an online matrimonial match during the lockdown in 2020. The accused restricted their contact on texts and online exchanges and entrapped him with a promise of a wedding, according to the complaint.

A 62-year-old man, was duped of ₹16 lakh by an online matrimonial match during the lockdown in 2020. (REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

“This happened on the online platform. The man never spoke over the phone or met the accused. We have few leads due to this but we are working on it. The accused claimed to be an interest match and took money for various reasons,” said senior police inspector Gajanan Pawar of Lonikand police station.

The man paid an initial amount of ₹20,000 in form of hotel stay expense, security deposit, and wedding venue hunting charges. However, later on, the accused cited others reasons for getting bigger amounts transferred. When the man got suspicious and asked for the refund, the accused told him that he needed to pay a charge in order to cancel the procedure as well. The man paid more money for it and lost a total of ₹16,32,579 in the process, said officials

“His son is betrothed and he was afraid of sharing details. He was looking for a match for himself when he came in contact with this person,” said police sub-inspector Suraj Gore who registered the case.

The man approached the cyber crime police station a few months ago and the case was registered on Sunday at a local police station based on primary investigation conducted by them.

A case under Sections 419 and 420 of Indian Penal Code along with Sections 66(c), 66(d) of Information Technology Act was registered Lonikand police station.