Date:18/09/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/09/18/stories/2007091860300400.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Man held on charge of matrimonial fraud

Staff Reporter

CHENNAI: A 31-year-old man was arrested on Monday, for allegedly cheating at least 38 women by promising to marry them and posing as a non-resident Indian businessman and bureaucrat.

Liyakath Ali got married to two women in Mumbai and one each in Nagpur and Tiruchi by impressing them with a profile of being wealthy and influential, posted on a matrimonial website.

His arrest followed two complaints from parents of a young woman each from Dindigul and Erode about a man allegedly cheating their daughters and hiding in north Chennai.

Commissioner of Police G. Nanchil Kumaran ordered a probe and a special team, led by Joint Commissioner (North) M. Ravi, nabbed him. It also seized a few passports, debit cards and mobile phone SIM cards from him.

According to the police, the accused hails from Koothapakkam village in Cuddalore district. During questioning, the police found that Ali had been married to a woman who lived with their child in Cuddalore.

His modus operandi was to create an attractive profile and post it on the site. At no point of time, did he reveal his original name.

The police found that he had created fictitious names including Rajesh Kumar, Sudhakar IAS and Sandip IAS. Posing as an NRI settled in the UK, one of the profiles that Ali had created was in the name of Rajesh. His profile ‘attracted’ many girls who came forward with marriage proposals, the police said. He had also taken the passport of a young woman in Chennai and Rs 2 lakh in cash from her, telling her that they were required to get a visa. Using the passport, Ali purchased a mobile phone connection, according to an investigation officer.

Last year, the Tiruchi city police registered a case against him on charges of taking photographs of girls visiting an Internet browsing centre that he had in Srirangam, and misusing them. The case is pending trial in the court. As part of the investigation, the police would conduct inquiries with matrimony service providers and phone service providers who gave a connection to him.