Thane man dupes 26 women of Rs 2.5 crore on matrimonial sites; arrested

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The Thane Police have arrested a 44-year-old man for allegedly duping over Rs 2.5 crore from at least 26 women through matrimonial websites.

An inquiry was initiated against the accused, identified as Prajit Keje, after a Thane-based woman registered a complaint against him earlier in December, the Hindustan Times reported.

According to the report, Keje approached the woman in August through a matrimonial website, and even promised to marry her after a few months. He made the woman believe that he had recently sold his hotel in Paris and that he is yet to get the money due to some issue with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

"He told her that he needed money urgently and would pay her double the amount after he receives his money," senior police inspector Uttam Sonawane, said as quoted by the report.

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The woman paid him Rs 16.86 lakh and could not reach him after that. She later approached the police who investigated the matter.

The police, along with the help of the woman, laid a trap to arrest Keje on December 11. The woman contacted Keje and informed him that she sold her apartment and has a lot of money. After she offered to lend him some money, Keje immediately agreed and walked into the trap himself. The police arrested him in Thane and produced him in court, the HT report added.

Further investigations revealed that Keje similarly cheated 25 more women in Mumbai, Kerala, Bengaluru and Kolkata, and duped at least Rs 2.58 crore using this modus operandi, Sonawane said, as quoted.

The accused was produced in court on Thursday, and was remanded in police custody till December 20.