Online pursuit of marriage costs Bengaluru woman Rs 23 lakh

Bengaluru: An online search for a life partner ended in heartbreak and the loss of Rs 23.5 lakh for a 42-year-old woman, who fell victim to an elaborate scam.

Roopa (name changed), a resident of Mathikere, said in her complaint that she had registered on a matrimony platform and was contacted by a profile in the name of Dr Vihan Mishra, who claimed to be a surgeon working in Scotland. During their weeks of conversations, he expressed interest in marriage and learnt about her family, profession, and personal life.

The fraudster told her that he would travel to India on May 4, 2026 to meet her and take their relationship forward. He later told her that he arrived in Delhi but officials at the airport detained him as he was a British citizen.

The scam took a dramatic turn when a woman identifying herself as Neha Rani called the complainant, claiming to be an immigration officer. She told Roopa that Mishra was carrying gold and a large sum of money that required clearance and conversion of the British currency into Indian rupee.

The fraudsters convinced her to transfer money to multiple bank accounts for various purported charges, including registration, clearance, and processing fees.

Believing she was helping her future husband resolve legal formalities, the woman transferred a total of Rs 23.5 lakh from her two bank accounts between May 4 and 6. Only later did she realise that the purported groom had vanished and that the entire relationship had been a carefully planned fraud. Police said an investigation is in progress.