The accused lured the 28-year-old woman through a matrimonial website in November; after proposing to her, he took her cash and jewellery worth Rs 2.85 lakh and fled; police say he may have conned others in the past
A 28-year-old woman got the shock of her life when her husband-to-be turned out to be a fraudster, and she realised her relationship was based on lies. Having gone to the extent of handing over her jewellery and cash to him, the woman immediately reported the matter to the police.
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Rahul Patil used to look for targets on matrimonial websites
According to the MIDC police in Andheri, the accused Rahul Patil (28) came in touch with the lady through a matrimonial website. The woman, a divorcee, met Patil in November and the two started dating. After a month’s courtship, Patil proposed marriage. He claimed to be a worker for the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Lured by his false promises, the woman even handed over Rs 75,000 in cash, Rs 2.1 lakh in jewellery and valuables.
The cheat was exposed when one day, the woman saw messages from other women on his mobile phone, asking for their jewellery back. When she asked him about the messages, the man gave evasive replies and left her house. He then also switched off his mobile phone so the woman wouldn’t call him. Realising that he was a serial conman, the woman lodged a case with the police on December 19.
How he was arrested
On Saturday, Patil went to a garage in Dadar to get his car fixed. When the garage owner handed him a bill for the repair work done, Patil argued with him and refused to pay up the amount, claiming he was an MNS worker. He created a big ruckus and threatened to vandalise the garage.
Unfortunately for him, the garage owner himself was an MNS member. When he asked Patil to show proof of his claims, the accused failed to do so. The MNS had already been on the lookout for the man who had been claiming to be a member of their party and was conning women.
The garage owner immediately took the accused to the Gamdevi police station, where they learnt about the complaint filed by the accused in the MIDC police station in Andheri. “The accused has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. He was produced in court on Sunday,” informed Anil Kadam, sub-inspector at MIDC police station, Andheri.
“Patil used to hire different cars to impress his victim. However, he never revealed anything about his real family members to his target,” added Kadam. Patil was remanded to police custody till December 25. Police said the man used to specifically target divorcees, and suspect he may have conned several other women in the past as well.
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