Seven from Gujarat held in Nagpur for cheating woman of Rs 20 lakh via matrimonial site

Police in Nagpur have busted an interstate gang that extorted about Rs 20 lakh from a woman through a matrimonial website. Crime Branch Unit-3 and the cyber crime team jointly detained seven accused from Gujarat and seized property worth Rs 18.45 lakh from them. Police also suspect the gang has links to a hawala network.

The gang was caught during the investigation of a complaint registered at Ganeshpeth police station. According to police, the woman had created a profile on a matrimonial site. On September 17, an unknown man phoned her and gradually befriended her. He described himself as a businessman in the gold and mall business. He won her trust by claiming to own a clothing mall in Britain and to run businesses in India as well.

After some time, the accused expressed a wish to marry the woman and settle in India. He assured her that he was coming to India with a large quantity of gold and foreign currency. He said he was bringing 70 tola of gold and 70,000 US dollars.

He then suddenly called to say that customs officials had caught him at Delhi airport. He told her that Rs 13.92 lakh would have to be deposited to get the gold and dollars released. Caught up in the dream of marriage and a groom from abroad, the woman kept believing him. Money was then demanded repeatedly, sometimes in the name of customs action and sometimes for other expenses, and about Rs 20 lakh was extorted.

After paying continuously, the woman realised she had been cheated and complained to police. As soon as the matter came to light, Crime Branch Unit-3 and the cyber team began a technical investigation. Police kept track of the gang members' movements using mobile numbers, call details and other technical leads.

Police laid a trap with the complainant's help. Six accused who were preparing for the next act of fraud were detained from a bungalow in Vardhaman Nagar. One accused was caught from Mumbai.

Police seized a Harrier car worth Rs 15 lakh, two two-wheelers worth about Rs 80,000 each, eight mobile phones worth about Rs 1.70 lakh and Rs 15,000 in cash from the accused. The total value of the seized items has been put at about Rs 18.45 lakh.

The accused are said to be residents of different districts of Gujarat. They are Jayesh Amrit Thakur (20), Yashpal Aamsingh Chauhan (24), Kuldeepsinh Vikram Jadeja (26), Rajendrasinh Rana Vaghela (34), Narpat Babu Singh (27), Upendra Nagjibhai Joshi (28) and Bhanusinh Jaswantsinh Vaghela (29).

Preliminary questioning revealed that the accused were running an interstate fraud network with Nagpur as its base. Police also suspect the gang is linked to an international hawala network. After medical examination, all the accused were handed over to Ganeshpeth police for further action. Investigating agencies are now trying to establish how many more people are part of the network and how deep its contacts abroad run. The investigation is continuing.