COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore Rural Cyber Crime Police arrested a 32-year-old woman who cheated a Pollachi-based farmer out of Rs 7.12 lakhs by promising to marry him.
Police said the woman gave a false address and fake names to the victim and received the amount under the pretext of providing treatment for her sister.
The arrested woman was identified as Priya, 32, daughter of Mathiyazhagan from Vazhapadi in Salem district. Police said her first husband allegedly died a few years ago, and she divorced her second husband. She parted from her third husband and now was in a live-in relationship with a man in Salem district.
The woman posted her photos on Jodii, a matrimonial application, last year. “She belonged to the Vanniyar community but mentioned in the app that she belonged to Kongu Vellala Gounder. She uploaded many photos on the app. Pollachi-based farmer P Mayilsamy, 32, was also looking for a bride on the same mobile application and showed interest in marrying her. The woman exchanged her mobile number with Mayilsamy, and they often spoke over video call,” said a police officer.
They were speaking with each other from August 2023 to February 2024. During this period, the woman sent a photograph of a woman, claiming it was her elder sister who was admitted to the hospital for treatment. The conwoman Priya demanded money from Mayilsamy to help her sister. He gave Rs 7.12 lakhs in multiple transactions.
She switched off the mobile number from March 2024, and the farmer went to the address given by the woman. He visited Namakkal and discovered it was a fake address. He launched a search to find the conwoman, but his efforts were in vain.
Finally, he lodged a complaint with the Coimbatore District Superintendent of Police Dr K Karthikeyan, who ordered the cybercrime police to arrest the conwoman.
“The woman gave her original address to obtain the bank passbook. We traced her address and arrested her on Saturday night. She was produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody on Sunday night. We seized a mobile phone from her,” said a police officer.
The investigation revealed that another person from Erode district deposited more than Rs 4 lakh into her bank account as he was also cheated by the woman.