Mumbai, September 17: In a shocking incident, a 36-year-old woman from Girgaum in Mumbai was duped of Rs 5.54 lakh in a matrimonial fraud case. The woman lost the money to a ‘foreign national’ who had met her through a Marathi matrimony app. According to reports, the incident came to light after the victim registered a complaint at the VP Road police on Wednesday after realising that her ‘fiance’ had cheated her and extorted money from her.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, the woman worked at a builder’s office in Bandra. During investigation, the woman informed police that she had registered on a Marathi matrimony app in June. In September, a man named Sandip Raut messaged her on WhatsApp and said that he was interested in marrying her. Raut allegedly told the complainant that he was a resident of California, USA and had got her details from the matrimony site. Maharashtra Cyber Crime: Man From Kalyan Duped of Rs 50,000 After Tweeting About Being Wrongly Charged by Bank.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, the duo began chatting following which Raut told the woman that he was sending some gifts for her worth Rs 57,000 through US-based Kings Cargo Courier. The man also gave her a link to the courier company. It was on September 7 that the woman received an email from Kings Cargo Courier, saying that her parcel was ready for shipping and that she would receive the next day. The company also gave her the name of the delivery agent and shared details of her bank account, stating that she would have to pay Rs 57,000 before the delivery. The woman was told that the amount would be refunded after delivery of the parcel.

Believing the fake assurance, the woman transferred the amount on the same day through mobile banking and later received another email stating that the parcel contained US dollars, which was illegal to be couriered to India. The email further stated that she would have to get permission from the Indian government or pay Rs 1.55 lakh and a fine of Rs 16,000 as late fees. The HT report states that the woman was given the name of Kalikadevi and her bank account to which the complainant sent a cheque of Rs 1.55 lakh.

However few days later on September 10, the woman received another email stating that she would have to pay Rs 3.36 lakh, which is equivalent to dollars contained in the parcel. The woman then got an email confirming that her parcel had reached India. Later on Tuesday, the woman received an email stating that an additional amount of Rs 9.55 lakh should be paid to get the parcel.

Since the woman did not have that much money, she contacted Raut, who instructed her to delete her matrimony registration immediately. The woman did as told by Raut but when she asked for the money, Raut told her that the courier company had duped her and he had nothing to do with. He then stopped answering her calls or replying to her messages.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 17, 2020 12:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).