A Chennai-based man was arrested for allegedly befriending several women and duping them by extorting money on the pretext of marriage, police said.
The Police Commissioner of Pimpri Chinchwad, Krishna Prakash during a press conference said, "We have arrested the accused, who extorted lakhs of money by luring highly educated working professionals, businesswomen, widows, divorced women over the age of 30. He targeted over 50 women from across the country, who were in search of a spouse, using matrimonial websites."
According to the police, the 32-year-old accused Premraj Thevaraj used to extort money by falsely reporting a dip in his business after he made close ties with the victims. "He also used to get engaged with these women," said Prakash.
The Police Commissioner further informed that two victims have reported a complaint against him in which he has extorted Rs 14 lakh and Rs 20,000 from the victims.
"In a case registered against him in Chennai, he defrauded a woman of Rs 98 lakh," he said.
He added, "By going through his phone records, there are more such victims, who are not coming forward to report the crime fearing embarrassment. Over 50 women have been a victim to the crime.
One of the victims toldthat the accused had taken her signature on marriage documents and presented a fake marriage certificate. "By taking a personal loan, I gave him Rs 11,04,000. I was suspicious and has asked him to come to Pune to meet my parents. For 1 year and 3 months, he never visited," she said.
( With inputs from ANI )
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