Pune Police To Write To Matrimonial Sites As Fake Aussie Groom Dupes Woman Of ₹3.6 Crore
A day after Pune Police arrested a Lucknow native holding an Australian passport for duping a woman of ₹3.6 crore in a matrimonial scam, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), Pankaj Deshmukh, told The Free Press Journal that police will soon send a formal letter to matrimonial websites regarding profile verification and identity authenticity to curb such scams.
“The letter will include various guidelines for matrimonial platforms to enhance the verification process and help prevent frauds,” Deshmukh said.
What is the case?
The accused had connected with the victim, a 40-year-old divorced woman from Kharadi in Pune, on Shaadi.com. He posed as “Dr. Rohit Oberoi” and promised to marry her. Gaining her trust, he then lured her into a fake start-up investment scheme, claiming he could help her with funding. The woman, who had recently received ₹5 crore as alimony from her previous marriage, ended up transferring ₹3.6 crore to Shukla in four different bank accounts, including one in Singapore.
Officials said the accused, later identified as Abhishek Shukla (42), used a fabricated identity and had been operating a large-scale fraud scheme targeting women through matrimonial platforms. A Lookout Circular (LOC) had been issued against him, and he was detained at Mumbai International Airport on June 25 upon arrival from Singapore. He was immediately handed over to the Pune Cyber Police.
Police investigations revealed that Shukla had messaged at least 3,194 women using the fake identity "Dr. Rohit Oberoi." The full extent of the scam is still under investigation, as authorities work to identify how many women may have been financially deceived.
In a particularly cruel twist, Shukla tried to sever ties with the victim by impersonating a friend via email in September 2024, claiming that "Rohit" had died of cancer. The victim, deeply shocked and distressed, later received counselling and was guided to approach Pune Cyber Cell through the 1930 national helpline.
Deshmukh further noted that the accused primarily targeted divorced women, exploiting their emotional vulnerabilities and financial independence. "We urge women who may have interacted with the fake profile or experienced similar fraud to come forward and contact senior officials of the city police," he added.
Meanwhile, Pune Police have appealed to other potential victims to report any suspicious interactions or financial losses involving the fake identity. Authorities believe the scope of this case could be much wider, given the scale of digital communication traced so far.
The Pune Cyber Police continue to probe the case, working with cyber experts to analyze Shukla's digital footprint and identify additional victims across the country and abroad.
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