Mumbai: AI used to identify, trace conman to Varanasi

In a significant breakthrough in the use of advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to nab criminals, the Bangur Nagar police have arrested a man from Varanasi, who allegedly duped a 31-year-old woman he met through a matrimonial site of lakhs of rupees, after promising to marry her. The accused has been identified as Sunil Kumar Prajapati, 36.

According to police sources, Prajapati gained the trust of the woman by promising to marry her, and over time, began extracting large sums of money before cutting off all contact and blocking her phone number. The police leveraged AI-powered tools such as PimEyes (a facial recognition search engine) and Reverse Image Search to trace Prajapati’s digital footprint. These tools allowed investigators to match online images and identify his real identity.

According to Bangur Nagar police, the 31-year-old complainant is working as a security guard and got married in 2006, but parted ways with her husband due to frequent disputes. She has a 12-year-old daughter. By 2021, the complainant and her daughter moved in with her parents at Goregaon. She decided to consider marrying again and registered with a matrimonial site at her parents’ insistence.

When the woman came in contact with Prajapati, he introduced himself as a married man whose wife had allegedly left him, and said he was looking for a second marriage. The two got acquainted, exchanged contact numbers, and began speaking regularly through WhatsApp texts, calls, and video calls. Over time, they decided to get married. Meanwhile, under various pretexts, Prajapati started demanding money. As the woman trusted him, she transferred a total of R486,416 via online transactions. However, when she asked Prajapati for her money, he blocked her on WhatsApp and ceased all communication.

In March, the woman approached Bangur Nagar police station and lodged a complaint. Under the guidance of DCP (Zone XI) Ananad Bhoite and ACP (Goregaon Division) Hemant Sawant, a team including API Vivek Tambe, API Rahul Bhadarge, and PSI Rohan Patil was formed to investigate. The team worked in collaboration with the Bangur Nagar police cyber team.

“The mobile number used by Prajapati was constantly switched off. It appeared that he had used the number solely to communicate with the complainant,” an officer said. “We had no clue about his whereabouts except for two photos—one taken as a screenshot during a video call, and another which he had sent on her request.”

“Using advanced AI tools like PimEyes, reverse image search, and facial recognition technologies, we traced Prajapati’s social media accounts. By tracking his IP address, we were able to pinpoint his location in Varanasi,” said an officer from Bangur Nagar.

According to the officer, by checking Prajapati’s call data records (CDRs), the police learned that he frequently ordered food online and used rented private cars for commuting. “Investigators traced one of the car drivers Prajapati had travelled with and managed to gather crucial information from him.”

The accused was extremely cautious and aware of ways to avoid detection. He regularly changed hotels and never provided the exact hotel address for food deliveries. Instead, he would instruct delivery personnel to hand over the food at a different location or outside the hotel premises.

During the investigation, the driver also revealed that Prajapati had a particular fondness for a special type of sweet from a shop located some distance away from Varanasi city. Prajapati, a resident of Mirzapur, had been living in Varanasi and had specifically asked the driver to bring those sweets for him whenever he visited, even if he was ferrying other clients.

Using this information, the police devised a plan. They had the driver call Prajapati and inform him that he was bringing the sweets. “A police team accompanied the driver, and when Prajapati arrived to collect the sweets, the officers, sitting in the same vehicle, apprehended him,” the officer said, adding that Prajapati was produced before a court last week.

“Prajapati was remanded to police custody. He has confessed to the crime and also agreed to return the amount he fraudulently obtained from the complainant,” said senior PI Anil Thakarey.

Rs 4,86,416
Amount Prajapati owed complainant