Man Posing as Merchant Navy Officer Arrested for Duping Indore Woman of Rs 26.86 Lakh

A 29 year old man from Uttar Pradesh has been arrested for allegedly cheating an Indore woman of Rs 26.86 lakh after posing as a Merchant Navy officer on a matrimonial website and promising to marry her. The accused was apprehended at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi while allegedly attempting to travel to Russia, police said on Tuesday.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Prevention Branch) Rajesh Kumar Tripathi, the accused, Jitendra Kumar Chonkar , also known as Jitu, was intercepted during immigration checks on June 27 after authorities received information about a criminal complaint registered against him. Airport officials subsequently handed him over to the police.

Investigators said Chonkar, a resident of the Jewar area in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddha Nagar district, contacted the woman through a matrimonial platform and introduced himself as a Merchant Navy officer. He allegedly gained her trust with the promise of marriage before seeking money under various pretexts.

Police alleged that the accused even claimed to be suffering from blood cancer and persuaded the woman to transfer money for his purported medical treatment. In total, the victim allegedly lost Rs 26.86 lakh .

During the investigation, police also found that Chonkar had previously worked as a supervisor for construction workers in Moscow , casting further doubt on the claims he made about his profession.

A case has been registered against the accused, and the investigation is continuing to determine whether he targeted other victims using similar methods or was part of a wider matrimonial fraud network.