Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested one man from Nigeria (West Africa) staying in Delhi on the allegations of cheating 300 women and cheating them of crores of rupees on the pretext of marriage, said, officials.
As per the official reports, the accused made friends with the help of social media and on matrimonial websites, where he introduced himself as a non-resident Indian (NRI) settled in Canada.
Garuba Galumje (38), who belongs from Lagos in Nigeria, was staying in the Kishan Garh area of South Delhi and has been arrested by officials of the cybercrime police station in Noida, they said.
The accused has been arrested because of the complaint of a woman who hails from the Meerut district of UP. As per sources, she had registered herself on the Jeevansathi website for marriage. A man approached her through the website and introduced himself as Indo-Canadain NRI Sanjay Singh, said Inspector Reeta Yadav, in charge of the Noida cyber crime police station.
“The man gradually acquired her trust and made emotional appeals as he duped her into transferring 60 lakh into his various bank accounts in multiple payments before she realised the deception,” Yadav told reporters.
When the incident was reported to the police, an inquiry was launched. According to the inspector who led the cyber police squad, the culprit was tracked down and apprehended in Delhi.
According to police, Garuba had first come to India in February 2019 on a six-month visa in connection with a business related to human hair and readymade garments.
He once again came to India on March 18 on a medical visa till May 22 but had over-stayed while relocating himself several times during the period, police said.
“Garuba has been sharing the fraud money to his family members in Nigeria through international money exchange services,” police added.
During the arrest, police rescued a passport, seven mobile phones, and 15 photocopies of documents, including forged letters in the names of Bank of Thailand, National Bank of Dubai, Interpol, US Department of State and FBI, officials said.
An FIR has been lodged against the charged under Indian Penal Code 406 (criminal breach of trust), 419 (cheating by impersonation) and Sections 420 (cheating), and under provisions of the Information Technology Act, they added.