Fakester tricks Chennai doctor on matrimonial site

CHENNAI: A city doctor who registered on a matrimonial website after paying 1 lakh was conned of 12 lakh by a scamster who pretended to be a doctor. The man, Dinesh Karthik alias Karthik Raj, 28, turned out to be a BCom graduate from Virudhunagar.
The woman, who works in a Puducherry hospital, had registered on the website in late 2021. In November, Karthik used the website to claim he too was an MBBS, MD like the woman and expressed interest in marrying her.
The two of them then started speaking on the phone. They decided the two families would meet in February. At the last minute, Karthik claimed his mother had Covid-19 and put off the meeting. He then cooked up stories saying he was facing a financial crunch as his father had been hospitalized and his sister's wedding had been fixed. The doctor fell for the stories and over the past six months gave him 12.9 lakh and the latest model iPhone.
She, however, grew suspicious when he continued to evade a meeting of the families. The doctor's family then filed a complaint with the Adyar police. After investigations, police found found out the truth about Karthik who lived in Navalur off OMR. He was nabbed from a hideout in Puducherry.
"He has cheated at least 20 women in a similar manner. He gets the phone number of women from their parents (whom he calls saying he saw their daughter's profile on the matrimonial site) and befriends them," said E Ramasundaram, inspector (Law and Order), Adyar. Police seized six mobile phones from Karthik. The accused was produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.