Karnataka: Man held for cheating 26 women promising marriage

Bengaluru: The Cyber Crime Police in Karnataka have arrested a person for allegedly cheating as many as 26 women on the pretext of marriage. The accused used matrimonial sites to find his victims. He landed in prison after making an attempt to dupe a woman who works in the police department.

The accused has been identified as Jai Bheem Vittal Padukoti (33), a resident of Vijayapur. The police have seized a luxury car from his possession besides freezing his bank accounts.

The accused got a job in Hescom as a lineman after the death of his father. He was married to Kavitha in 2013 and reportedly killed her following a quarrel. He was imprisoned for two years for this.

Coming out of the prison after securing bail, he resorted to cheating women on the pretext of marrying them to lead a luxurious life. The accused had created fake accounts in matrimonial sites, claiming that he was a section officer in Hescom.

He used to send messages to women that he had liked their profile. Later, he would visit their houses to win the trust of the parents and relatives of the victims. He also took lakhs of rupees from the girls' relatives promising them government jobs.

The accused managed to get the details of the bank accounts of the girls who agreed to marry him. Whenever the victims asked him to return the money, he would threaten them.

The police gathered evidence against the accused for cheating three women after developing physical intimacy with them on the pretext of marrying them.

The accused had cheated 26 women in Shivamogga, Haveri, Bengaluru, Mysuru, Dharwad, Hubballi, Yadgiri and Raichur districts. He had also taken Rs 21.30 lakh from the victims.

The accused ran out of luck after sending a similar request to a woman who worked in the police department. After observing his moves, the victim grew suspicious and informed the police.