: A 36-year-old married man has been arrested for allegedly posing as a divorcee and duping women of money.
A father to two daughters, Manish Gupta had created profiles on at least three matrimonial websites in which he had claimed to be a divorcee.
His alleged false claims that he had a business of iron and earned Rs. 1 crore annually was good enough to attract prospective brides, most of them divorcees or widows.
One such victim who liked his profile was a divorcee doctor looking for another marriage.
Gupta allegedly contacted her saying he had done his MBA from a reputed institute and was a successful businessman.
Laying a trap
Gupta and the woman bonded well. “Gupta met the woman several times and remained in regular contact with her through WhatsApp. Once he gained her confidence and she began considering a future with him, he duped her,” said Milind Mahadeo Dumbere, DCP (North-West).
One day in June, Gupta allegedly called the woman to say he had lost his wallet, credit cards and gold jewellery and that he urgently needed money.
Believing that she was helping her “future husband”, the woman deposited Rs. 75,000 in two instalments in his bank account.
Thereafter, he disappeared. When the woman realised that she had been duped, she approached the Ashok Vihar police.
Deceit
When the police analysed Gupta’s bank account details, they learnt that he no longer lived at the address he had submitted to the bank.
He was finally nabbed on Sunday based on a tip-off. During interrogation, he revealed that his father and brother had disowned him because of his alleged cheating habits.
Further, his mobile phone and bank account details revealed that there were 30 more women on his “radar” and that he had already managed to cheat a few more women.
