Puri Police Arrest Man for Allegedly Cheating Woman of ₹15 Lakh Through Matrimonial App
Puri: A man accused of posing as a senior government officer from Chhattisgarh on a matrimonial platform has been arrested by Puri Police for allegedly duping a woman of nearly ₹15 lakh.
The accused, identified as Balabhadra Prasad Mishra (44), allegedly used a fake identity to gain the trust of a nurse before carrying out a large-scale financial fraud.
According to police, the accused created a profile on Bharat Matrimony and introduced himself as an Additional Secretary-rank officer in the Chhattisgarh Government.
He allegedly developed a relationship with the victim and later convinced her to provide money on various pretexts, including securing a government job for her sister.
Investigators said the woman became suspicious after repeated financial demands.
When questioned, the accused allegedly threatened to use his purported influence to transfer her to Odisha’s KBK region.
Police further revealed that the accused allegedly forced the victim to open multiple bank accounts in different banks.
Loans amounting to more than ₹13 lakh were reportedly sanctioned in her name and later withdrawn by the accused.
The fraudulently obtained funds were allegedly used to purchase a Toyota car and finance an extravagant lifestyle, including luxury hotel stays and air travel.
During the investigation, police seized 14 bank passbooks, nine cheque books, 17 debit and credit cards, six mobile phones, and ₹10,000 in cash from the accused.
Authorities also discovered that fraud and forgery cases had previously been registered against the accused in Sambalpur and multiple police stations in Bhubaneswar.
Police have frozen links to 12 bank accounts across different states and suspect the involvement of a larger interstate fraud network. Further investigation is underway.
