Doc loses Rs 12.9 lakh, iPhone to impostor on matrimonial site

CHENNAI: After paying more than Rs 1 lakh to a matrimonial website as subscription fee, a city doctor was cheated of more than Rs 12 lakh by an impostor, who claimed to be a doctor. Chennai Police on Sunday arrested the accused, Dinesh Karthik alias Karthik Raj (28), a B.Com graduate, who siphoned off money from the 30-year-old doctor.

According to an official, the doctor has been serving at a hospital in Puducherry and had registered in a matrimony site in late 2021.

The subscription rates for the matrimony ranges from Rs 1.25 lakh to Rs 12 lakh, according to their website. “Here, we help you find the perfect life partner who matches your stature, aura, and sophistication in every sense of the word, ” their website reads.

Through the website, the lady got acquainted with Karthik Raj in November 2021. Karthik claimed to have completed MBBS, MD like her and the two of them started talking to each other.

The two of them spoke over phone and when the families were supposed to meet in February this year, the accused postponed it by claiming that his mother got infected with Covid-19. “Over a period of time, he had also taken money from the lady doctor by citing various reasons such as his father’s illness, sister’s wedding and other reasons, ” a police officer said citing the complaint.

According to the complaint, in the past six months, the accused had taken Rs 12.9 lakh from the lady and also the latest version of iPhone.

Suspicious over the man’s activities, the doctor’s family filed a complaint with Adyar police. After investigations, police found that the accused, a resident of Navalur off OMR, was an impostor.

“He had used another person’s photograph with a doctor’s suit to cheat the woman, ” a police officer said. Investigations are underway to find if he had used the same modus operandi on other women. The accused was produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.