58-yr-old man held for conning women on pretext of marriage

The man was identified as Murugan (58) from Maangadu, who is married and has two children. Police said Murugan used to give matrimonial advertisements in newspapers, claiming to be separated from his wife. He claimed to be earning Rs 50,000 per month. 

Seeing this advertisement, many women used to call him to find out about further details. Murugan asked the callers to come to a hotel, and, adept at convincing glib talk, he collected money and jewels from them on the promise of marriage. 

However, within a few days, he would change his mobile phone number. Then, he would issue another advertisement, this time using a different mobile number.  

This was Murugan’s modus operandi for eight years; even his family was not aware of his crime, said police. Recently a 45-year-old woman from Hosur had contacted Murugan after seeing the advertisement. 

Murugan had told her to come to a hotel in Tambaram, where he promised to marry her. However, he said he had some financial problems and requested her to give the 4-sovereign chain that she was wearing. He promised to return it after a few days of marriage. But when the woman tried to contact Murugan after that, his number was not reachable. Following this, the woman filed a complaint at Tambaram police station. 

Police registered a case and were searching for Murugan. 

On Tuesday morning, police caught a man on suspicion near Thiruneermalai adjoining Pallavaram. During inquiry, the police team found that he was carrying more than 40 SIM cards and two mobile phones with him. This led to suspicion prompting a more detailed investigation. 

After finding out that he was Murugan, police placed him under arrest. He was later remanded in judicial custody and sent to Puzhal prison.