Rs 11 Crore Matrimonial Fraud Racket Busted In Madhya Pradesh, 6 Arrested

Police busted an interstate cybercrime racket that allegedly cheated people of more than Rs 11 crore through matrimonial websites in over 100 cases, arresting six people from Rajasthan and Bihar, police said on Monday.

The racket also has suspected international links, with callers based abroad allegedly helping the gang target victims by posing as prospective marriage partners, Mandsaur Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar Meena said.

The investigation began after a woman from Shamgarh lodged a complaint alleging that she was contacted through a matrimonial website by a man claiming to be an NRI.

"He contacted her through a matrimonial alliance and claimed to be an NRI. He allegedly committed cyber fraud and took around Rs 7.5 lakh from the woman," Meena told IANS.

The accused allegedly used fake photographs and introduced other gang members to the woman through WhatsApp, where they posed as family members of the prospective groom.

After gaining her confidence, they allegedly told her that expensive gifts sent from abroad had been detained by Customs and demanded money towards taxes and processing charges.

Some of the accused allegedly posed as Customs officials and threatened her before she transferred about Rs 7.5 lakh into multiple bank accounts.

Police registered a case at Shamgarh police station and formed a special team to investigate the fraud. Police analysed more than 150 mule bank accounts and mobile SIM cards before tracing the accused.

Five suspects were arrested during raids in Jaipur, while the alleged mastermind was apprehended from Arwal district in Bihar, the SP said.

"One group was involved in arranging mule bank accounts and SIM cards from places including Agra, Firozabad, Delhi, Bihar and Bhopal, while another group withdrew the money and deposited it through cash deposit machines," Meena said.

The gang allegedly destroyed mobile phones, SIM cards, passbooks and ATM cards after bank accounts were frozen. Police said they found slips bearing account numbers pasted on the backs of the mobile phones.

Police recovered 22 Android mobile phones, 30 mule SIM cards and five ATM cards from the accused.

Police said they have frozen more than Rs 8 lakh lying in various bank accounts and will return it to the victim through due legal process.

"The investigation is continuing to establish the international connections of the gang and identify other persons involved in the racket," Meena said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)