Man arrested by Delhi Police for duping 50 women on pretext of marriage 

When Mukeem Ayyub Khan was casually browsing through a matrimonial website in 2020, he had no idea that his life and the lives of 50 women were about to change for the worse.

“He was already married by then and had three children. He was casually browsing the portal and had no intention of cheating on his wife. But then he met his first victim,” said a senior police officer.

He began chatting with a divorced woman who had a five-year-old daughter. He expressed interest in marrying her but claimed to be suffering from financial hardship.

The officer added, “The woman offered financial help, and it occurred to Mr. Khan — what if he posed as a high-ranking government official, a businessman or an Army officer on matrimonial portals and duped rich women, particularly the divorced who were looking to restart their lives?”

He began creating fake identities and allegedly conned over 50 women, four of whom he married, in several cities, including Kolkata, Mumbai, Meerut, Vadodara, Delhi, Lucknow, and Pratapgarh, extracting from his victims money, expensive gadgets, flight tickets, vehicles, and jewellery. One of his victims is a judicial officer.

The 36-year-old high-flying “conman” was finally netted by the Delhi police from outside Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station on September 2 based on a victim’s complaint. Following his arrest, Khan was booked under BNS Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating).

“During interrogation, he disclosed that he used to target rich Muslim women by posing as a senior government official or as an Army officer or as a businessman. After fixing the target, he used to share his mobile number with them and engage them in conversations,” said DCP (Crime Branch) Sanjay Kumar Sain.

Mr. Khan, who hailed from U.P.’s Pratapgarh and was based in east Delhi’s Shastri Park, was on the radar of police departments of several States, Mr. Sain said. However, he kept slipping out of the hands of law enforcement agencies as he frequently changed his contact details and location.

“He would tell the women that he was unable to take care of his only daughter after the death of his wife. He would also share the pictures of his actual wife and daughter with the women to win their trust,” the DCP said.

“Once he won the trust of his victims, he would cheat them by extracting money in the name of booking resorts, marriage halls or hotels for the wedding,” the officer added. After cheating them, he would abscond.

Though Mr. Khan cheated many women, including a judicial officer and a worker of a non-profit, only a few of them stepped forward to register complaints, said the officer, adding that a probe is under way to ascertain more details.

Published - September 20, 2024 01:01 am IST