Fake dating profiles, a ‘rare oil’ pitch: How Ugandan man duped AIIMS researcher of Rs 1.90 lakh

Police claimed he is linked to 14 cyber-fraud cases on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal, with cumulative fraudulent transactions running into several crores across multiple states.

“Investigation revealed that the accused created multiple fake identities of women to befriend victims online, emotionally manipulate them, and cheat them through fabricated high-return investment stories. He used photographs of his girlfriend to create fake profiles on dating and social media platforms,” DCP (Southwest) Amit Goel said.

The present case started a year ago. Police said the AIIMS researcher came across the profile of a woman on a dating site, Happn. Sparks flew, numbers were exchanged, and within a month, the researcher and the woman were talking regularly. The woman was none other than Iga, posing as an employee of a beauty-products company, police said.

“Iga lured him with a fraudulent business opportunity to buy a rare oil from Assam for Rs 2 lakh per litre and sell it for Rs 3.5 lakh, promising instant high returns,” a police officer said.

Iga was arrested on December 8 from Burari. During questioning, he told police that he was the one who created the fake profile and trapped the victim in the fraudulent scheme.

A special team led by Inspector Pravesh Kaushik, police said, also recovered cash Rs 22,500, four mobile phones, a laptop, and six debit cards used for receiving and rotating defrauded funds from Iga’s possession.

“The accused frequently changed locations to evade arrest. Multiple raids were carried out in Gurgaon, Mehrauli, Burari, and adjoining areas before he was finally apprehended through sustained technical surveillance,” DCP Goel said.

“Intimation regarding the foreign national was sent to the Uganda Embassy and Foreigners Regional Registration Office. The accused was found to be residing illegally in Delhi. He admitted to creating fake identities of women and trapping victims after building trust,” DCP Goel added.