Man held for posing as media baron, decamping with cash

Abhishek Vasisht allegedly was involved in many other cases of frauds, most of which he allegedly committed by pretending to be either a journalist or the owner of a media house.

A man who pretended to be the owner of a media house and ‘married’ a Delhi woman, only to fleece her of her jewellery and cash two weeks later, was arrested from Haridwar on Saturday, police said.

The accused had lured 21 women through different matrimonial sites. A city court had also issued a non-bailable warrant against him in the case, the officer added. (REUTERS)

Although married to another woman at the time, Abhishek Vasisht had pretended to be single and wealthy while approaching prospective brides, said Pramod Kushwah, deputy commissioner of police (special cell).

“He would create fake identities on matrimonial websites and pose as a wealthy man owning a BMW car, a house in Gurgaon and a monthly salary of ₹2 lakh.

At last count, he was trying to attract 21 women on matrimonial sites with the intention of cheating them,” said the DCP.

In reality, 32-year-old Vasisht has a degree in journalism and has claimed to have worked as a reporter with several news channels, the officer said.

“In 2012, he also posed as an astrologer to work with a devotional channel. He was ousted from the channel after multiple complaint of cheating against him,” said the officer.

Vasisht allegedly was involved in many other cases of frauds, most of which he allegedly committed by pretending to be either a journalist or the owner of a media house.

The DCP said that the Delhispecific complaint against Vasisht, a native of Kurukshetra in Haryana, was received at the Barakhamba police station earlier this year.

“Vasisht had posed as a media house owner and convinced the family of a prospective bride to get her married to him. He lived with the woman for two weeks before decamping with a lot of cash and jewellery that the bride had received at the wedding,” said the deputy commissioner of police quoting the complainant.

The police registered a case of cheating. Their probe revealed that Vasisht was already married to another woman for over a decade and even had a daughter with her. “The couple was in an estranged relationship and he hadn’t been living with her for the past six years,” said the officer.

A tip-off resulted in Vasisht’s arrest from Haridwar on Saturday. “In 2016, he had earlier been arrested by Chandigarh Police for posing as an employee of a media house to carry out a bogus land deal,” said the officer.

The deputy commissioner of police said that Vasisht’s parents had separated soon after his birth. “His father is alive and living in Uttarakhand, but Vasisht would tell everyone that his father was dead,” said the officer.