News Crime 65-year-old Mumbai man enrolls on dating site, loses ₹ 73.5 lakh to fake call centre

65-year-old Mumbai man enrolls on dating site, loses ₹ 73.5 lakh to fake call centre

Three persons, including a woman and a transgender, have been arrested by the Kharghar police team after they lured the man of registration on the dating site. 

Online fraud Image Source : PTI Man loses lakhs of money in bid to register himself on online dating site

An elderly man lost over 70 lakh rupees in a bid to get himself registered on a dating site. The incident was reported from Mumbai, where the 65-year-old man was cheated for Rs 73.5 lakh after he was offered membership of a dating site. The police have busted a fake centre which was being operated from Kolkata and duped the elderly man of lakhs of rupees. 

Three persons, including a woman and a transgender, have been arrested by the Kharghar police team after they lured the man of registration on the dating site. 

Those arrested were Sneha alias Mahi Das (25), a resident of Sodhpur, Prabir Saha (35), from in Mandalpara, and Arnab Roy (26) from Durgapur in Howrah.

Senior inspector Pradip Tidar said, “Sneha contacted the Kharghar resident in September 2018 and offered him membership of Locanto Dating Services and Speed Dating, claiming they provide girls for dates at a location chosen by the member and made him pay registration and other fees. As he did not facilitate dating, the victim demanded cancellation of membership. But he demanded exorbitant cancellation charges. Thereafter, the accused threatened to lodge a police complaint against him for demanding girls, and they sent him legal notices to scare him and to extort money.”

Tidar said, “The accused demanded money to prevent legal trouble and made him transfer Rs 73.5 lakh to several accounts. He coughed up the sum as he feared social stigma. Eventually, he approached Kharghar police and an FIR was registered.” 

Also Read | Man killed over affair, body recovered after 52 days in Maharashtra

Also Read | 12-year-old girl repeatedly raped by 4 in Haryana's Karnal