16 November,2023 08:30 AM IST | Mumbai | Samiullah Khan
Zorin Solanki, 37, (in black T-shirt) was arrested by the Borivali police (L) and Pinakin Patel, 43, was arrested by the Borivali police for being an accomplice to Solanki who had cheated a woman
The Borivali police arrested two men from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on Monday for duping a woman who had enlisted on a matrimonial website of R7 lakh. The two men arrested are habitual offenders who had been arrested in the past for cheating women by employing the same modus operandi.
As per the information given by a 24-year-old woman to the police on November 4, was contacted by a man who identified himself as Vaibhav Shah, 30 on the Jeevansaathi.com matrimonial website.
Shah presented himself as a diamond trader with substantial business interests in South Africa and Mumbai, proposed marriage to the victim and persuaded her to invest R7 lakh in his business on the promise of doubling the amount in two days. Trusting Shah, the woman transferred the money through online payment.
However, after receiving the money, Shah deleted his profile from the website and turned off his mobile phone. Realizing she had been defrauded she reported the incident to the Borivali police.
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Police sub-inspector Kalyan Patil, the cyber officer of Borivali police station, under the supervision of senior police inspector Ninad Sawant traced the online transaction to Ahemdabad. PSI Patil reached Ahmedabad and arrested Shah whose real name turned out to be Zorin Anil Solanki, 37. The police also detained Solanki's accomplice Pinakin Navitbhai Patel, 43, said a police officer.
The police investigation revealed that Solanki and Patel had created multiple profiles on various matrimonial websites and using the same modus operandi had defrauded at least 15 women.
Their victims included, among others, a doctor from Goa who was cheated of R21 lakh and a doctor from Andheri who was cheated of R20 lakh a couple of years ago.
"We have charged the duo under sections 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and section 66 (C) (D) of the Information Technology Act. The police are currently reaching out to other victims to determine the full extent of the scam and ascertain how many more women may have been targeted," said an officer.
