Mumbai Crime: 38-year-old Thane woman duped of Rs 7 lakh by UK-based ma

The man later told the woman that he had sent her a gift parcel and she could take it by making certain payment to a courier company, thereby duping her of Rs 7 lakh

A 38-year-old woman working with a consultancy firm here in Maharashtra was allegedly duped of Rs 7.3 lakh by a UK-based man whom she befriended on a matrimonial portal, police said. The complainant, who is separated from her husband and lives with her parents here, told the police that while going through the matrimonial site some months back, she befriended the accused, identified as Donald William (23), who claimed to be from Belgravia in London.

The man later told the woman that he had sent her a gift parcel and she could take it by making certain payment to a courier company, Thane police spokesperson Sukhada Narkar said. The woman alleged that between June 17 and August 9 this year, the accused asked her to make payments several times worth Rs 7.3 lakh to the courier firm on various pretexts, like customs clearance of gifts sent by him and wrong labelling of the parcels, Narkar said.

The accused also told her once that he had arrived in New Delhi but was indisposed and so, could not meet her. However, when the woman did not receive any gift parcel and the accused stopped communicating with her, she got suspicious and filed a complaint with the Rabodi police Monday night, Narkar said.

Based on her complaint, the police registered offences against the man and two persons working with a Delhi-based courier firm under IPC section 420 (cheating) and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, she said. No arrest has been made so far, Narkar said, adding that a probe is on into the complaint.

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