Barwani, Madhya Pradesh: The Sendhwa City Police and Cyber Cell in Madhya Pradesh’s Barwani district have arrested two women from Uttarakhand in connection with an alleged ₹3 lakh cyber fraud in which a chartered accountant (CA) was deceived through an online matrimonial platform. According to police, the fraudsters posed as a UK-based prospective groom, gained the victim’s trust by promising expensive gifts, and later demanded money in the name of courier charges and customs duty. Investigators traced ₹95,000 of the defrauded amount to the bank accounts of the two arrested women, and the money has been seized.
Police identified the arrested women as Rekha and Nida, residents of Bajpur in Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar district. During questioning, they allegedly stated that a local man, Shobhit Jatav, persuaded them to allow the use of their bank accounts, claiming that money related to online gaming would be deposited into them and that they would receive a commission of ₹5,000 for each account. Police are verifying these claims as part of the ongoing investigation.
According to investigators, the 25-year-old victim, a resident of Sendhwa, was working from home for a Bengaluru-based company. She had created a profile on an online matrimonial website, where she came into contact with a man claiming to be based in England. As their conversations progressed, the accused allegedly promised to send her gifts worth approximately ₹15 lakh.
Police said the suspect attempted to make the story appear genuine by sending a purported receipt from a UK-based courier company via WhatsApp. He then demanded money for courier charges, customs duty, and other processing fees, claiming that failure to make the payment would lead to legal complications for him.
Believing the claims, the victim transferred nearly ₹3 lakh to multiple bank accounts provided by the accused. Police said she used her personal savings, borrowed money from a friend and a relative, and even obtained an advance salary from her employer. Investigators added that her employer had warned her that the beneficiary account appeared suspicious and advised her not to transfer the money, but she proceeded with the payment after insisting.
During the investigation, police also found that approximately ₹72,000 had been routed through the bank accounts of two medical students in Bhopal. The students reportedly said they had allowed the use of their accounts after being told the money was required for the treatment of someone’s mother. Police said no evidence of their involvement in the cyber fraud has been found so far. Investigators also discovered that another bank account in Assam was allegedly used to withdraw nearly ₹1 lakh.
Renowned cybercrime expert and former IPS officer Prof. Triveni Singh said cybercriminals are increasingly exploiting matrimonial websites and social media platforms to build emotional trust before demanding money under the pretext of gifts, customs duty, international courier charges, or emergencies. He advised people to independently verify such claims before transferring any money and to immediately report suspicious requests to the police.
Following the victim’s complaint, Sendhwa City Police registered a case and launched an investigation. Authorities said they are examining bank accounts, digital transaction trails, and other electronic evidence. Police added that efforts are underway to identify and arrest other members of the alleged interstate cyber fraud network.
