While the extent of matrimony and dating scams is surprising these days, a recent scam in Pune involved a divorced woman who was duped of ₹3.6 crore by a man on Shaadi.com.
This comes days after an 85-year-old man was duped in a matrimony scam. In this particular scam, the woman from Delhi who resides in Pune was duped of ₹3.6 crore of the ₹5 crore alimony she received from her first marriage.
The investigation has stated that the name of the man involved is Abhishek Shukla, who is from Lucknow and holds an Australian passport. He chatted with over 3,900 women on Shaadi.com.
PhD in Business Administration?
The accused introduced himself as a PhD holder in Business Administration and a successful entrepreneur living in Australia. Gradually, he built an emotional bond with the woman, promising marriage and offering to help her grow a business internationally. Gaining her confidence, he persuaded her to invest in what he claimed was a business venture, eventually convincing her to transfer ₹3.6 crore through multiple transactions to different bank accounts.
Shukla allegedly introduced the woman to two of his ‘associates’, ‘Yvonne Handayani’ and ‘Vincent Kuan’, who purportedly lived in Singapore.
Faked cancer and death
They communicated primarily over WhatsApp and other messaging platforms, during which the man sent fake documents and staged emergency situations to gain her trust. Once she transferred the full ₹3.6 crore, he began to avoid her, claiming a sudden diagnosis of oral cancer as the reason.
In September 2024, she received an email from someone calling himself “Vincent Kuan”, stating that “Dr. Rohit Oberoi” had died. Feeling suspicious, she shared the information with a friend, who urged her to contact authorities. Convinced she had been defrauded, she reached out to the Pune Cyber Police in November 2024.
Caught in Mumbai finally
The investigation revealed his real identity as Abhishek Shukla, a resident of Perth, Australia. Police registered a formal cheating case against him and issued a Look-Out Circular.
On Wednesday, authorities received intelligence that Shukla was en route from Singapore to Mumbai. Sub-Inspector Sushil Damre and his team intercepted him at Mumbai Airport and took him into custody.
