Man held for swindling over ₹20 lakh by posing as a woman

The Nungambakkam police on Tuesday arrested a 49-year-old man from Salem for allegedly cheating a 39-year-old man by posing as a woman.

The police said the complainant B. Raguram, 39, of Puzhuthivakkam, had been working as a senior executive of a private firm in Nungambakkam. While looking for an alliance, his father Balasubramanian contacted a person called Kalyanaraman, who said his family was looking for a groom for his niece Ishwarya, who was in Salem. He told Mr. Balasubramanian that they liked his son’s profile.

The police said on May 22, Mr. Raguram received a call from someone claiming to be Ishwarya, who said she needed ₹8,000 to seek medical help for her mother. Mr. Raguram made the transfer through a digital wallet and further sent ₹20.9 lakh in instalments. Whenever Mr. Raguram quizzed Kalyanaraman about the marriage, the latter would become evasive. He also declined to return the money. Hence, Mr. Raguram lodged the complaint.

After investigation, the police arrested Thathathri, of Chinna Thirupathi, who pretended to be both Kalyanaraman and Ishwarya, over the phone and cheated the complainant by changing his voice. The accused worked as a medical representative and had spent the money on online games.