Delhi: ‘Groom’ posed as top TV executive to dupe 6 women

NEW DELHI: A 41-year-old man was arrested by Cyber Cell from Dwarka on Wednesday for posing as the head of a sports channel and duping women on matrimonial sites. Police suspect that he may have duped six women in the past two years by proposing marriage and blackmailing them.
The accused, Anurag Mendiratta, is a BBA graduate from Lucknow and had worked as a sales manager with three private banks in the NCR. Deputy commissioner of police (cyber cell) Anyesh Roy said that a team led by additional DCP KPS Malhotra tracked his IP addresses after receiving a complaint from one of his victims last year. It was also found that another woman had approached CR Park police station to register a complaint.

“We tracked the money trail and the IP addresses which led us to his location in Delhi. Every online criminal leaves a digital footprint,” said DCP Roy.

Mendiratta used to select a target and create a profile suiting her requirements on the matrimonial website.

In one of the cases, he posed as Siddharth Walia and introduced himself as the head of a sports channel based in Mumbai. He claimed to be looking for a bride and started chatting with the woman. After a few days he cooked up a story about his father being diagnosed with cancer.

After a few days, he called the woman from a UK number saying that he had travelled to London for his father’s treatment. He asked for Rs 6 lakh, which the complainant deposited in his account.

“He had used a device to show the ISD code of a different country. Technical analysis also revealed that he had a Gmail account with the fake name linked to his Facebook and other social media profiles to create a virtual identity,” Malhotra said.

Later, when the woman asked him to return the money, he verbally abused her. She then went to the sports channel’s office in Mumbai and found the identity faked.

He lured the second victim in a similar way and blackmailed her for sexual favours. He posed as one Siddharth Oberoi, the head of a sport channel based in Dubai. After chatting with her for a few months, he started blackmailing the woman. He also met her posing as the cousin of his assumed identity. The victim got suspicious as the “cousin’s” voice sounded similar to Oberoi’s and registered a complaint.

During interrogation, Mendiratta told police that he is married and has a son. He quit his job and was working as a property dealer in Dwarka. Cops are probing whether his wife was aware of his crimes.