Thane: Man cheats septuagenarian woman of Rs 57 lakh on pretext of marriage

The police on Wednesday said that a 73-year-old woman from Maharashtra`s Thane district has been allegedly cheated of more than Rs 57 lakh by a man who promised to marry her, reported news agency PTI.

The victim, a resident of a housing society on Nana Shankarshet Road in Dombivli area, got in touch with the 62-year-old man through his matrimonial advertisement published in a newspaper, Vishnu Nagar police station inspector Vivek Kumutkar said, reported PTI.

After gaining the woman`s confidence, the man promised marriage and a peaceful life together in Pune, he said.

“The man told the victim that he intended to purchase a house in Pune and convinced her to transfer Rs 35 lakh for it. He gave her fabricated receipts and fake property documents to assure her,” the official said, reported PTI.

After temporarily living at the woman`s residence, the accused also allegedly stole her gold ornaments valued at around Rs 20 lakh. He also allegedly stole her debit card and used it to withdraw Rs 2.4 lakh, according to the police, reported PTI.

After duping the woman of her funds last month, the accused disappeared and is currently untraceable, the official said.

Based on the victim`s complaint, the police on Monday registered an FIR against the man under various Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections, including 316(2) (criminal breach of trust), 318(2) (cheating), 305 (theft in a dwelling house), 336(2) & 336(3) (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc) and 340(2) (using a forged document or electronic record as genuine).

“We are probing the matter thoroughly and efforts are underway to trace and apprehend the accused,” the official said.

Four booked for duping woman of Rs 4 lakh in Thane district

Meanwhile, a case has been registered against four persons in Maharashtra`s Thane district for allegedly duping a woman of Rs 4 lakh after promising to double her investment in a fortnight, police said on Monday, reported PTI.

Based on a complaint, the Ambernath police have registered a first information report (FIR) under sections 318(4) (cheating) and 316(2) (criminal breach of trust) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), an official said.

He said the complainant has alleged that the accused, Ganesh Kadu, Rahul Shahu, Mohit Jha and Vishal Ashra, approached her in September 2024, claiming that they were expecting to receive a large sum of money through hawala but needed Rs 10 lakh upfront to process the deal, reported PTI.

The official said the accused assured the woman that if she gave them Rs 4 lakh, they would return double the amount in 15 days.

“The woman handed over the money to the accused, but they failed to return it and gave evasive responses when she followed up,” he said.

The official said no arrests have been made, and a probe has been initiated.

(With inputs from PTI)

This article first appeared on Mid Day