85-year-old Pune man searching for life partner loses over Rs 11 lakh in matrimonial ad fraud

An 85-year-old man from Pune, searching for a life partner, allegedly ended up losing over Rs 11.45 lakh in a matrimonial ad scam. The senior, a resident of the Bibwewadi area, responded to a newspaper ad, only to be drawn into a costly trap. According to the police, between April 18 and June 1, the victim transferred the hefty sum to multiple bank accounts as requested by the “prospective bride”. It started with a call to the ad’s contact number, where he was asked to pay a registration fee to proceed.

“After the registration, the person shared the details of a woman with him, saying she would be his bride. The woman contacted the victim, and what followed was a series of conversations between the two. In a few days, the woman won the trust of the victim and she made promises to marry him. She sought financial help for various purposes, and the victim went on depositing the money into different bank accounts as per the demands made by the woman,” said an officer. Despite making the payments, the woman was skirting his marriage demands, after which he approached the police.

The police at the Bibwewadi station filed the First Information Report (FIR) on Friday under sections 319(2), 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Indian Penal Code and sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act.

The police are probing the mobile number and bank accounts used by the fraudsters.