BERHAMPUR: A 39-year-old M-Tech postgraduate from Kandhamal district has been arrested in Goa for allegedly cheating several women of Rs 1.19 crore through fake profiles on matrimonial websites, police said. The accused allegedly used false promises of marriage and fabricated medical documents to gain the women’s trust.
“The accused, Jinu Sahani alias Rakesh Rajput of Pionpada village in Phulbani town, was arrested by a team of the Cyber Crime and Economic Offences (CC & EO) police station, Ganjam, in connection with Case No. 16, registered on July 10, 2026, under various provisions of the BNS and section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act,” said Ganjam SP Harisha BC. The accused was nabbed on Friday and brought to Ganjam on Monday, he added.
The case came to light after a 31-year-old widow from Bhanjanagar lodged a complaint alleging that she had been cheated of around Rs 60 lakh after coming into contact with a man identifying himself as Sai Krupa Das of Bhubaneswar on a matrimonial site. This person turned out to be Sahani, police said.
According to police investigation, the accused gained her confidence by promising to marry her and later narrated a series of fabricated stories about his father’s illness and death. He also claimed he was suffering from psoriasis (an autoimmune skin condition) and allegedly sent fake photographs and forged medical documents through WhatsApp.
Video calls were also used to reinforce his identity and gain the woman’s confidence. The accused allegedly persuaded the complainant to allow him to operate her bank account, claiming his own bank account had been frozen. Believing him, she mortgaged her gold ornaments and borrowed money from family members and others before transferring nearly Rs 60 lakh through multiple bank transactions, police said.
Questioning the accused revealed his involvement in several cheating cases, including other matrimonial frauds. Police said he allegedly cheated a woman in Bhubaneswar of Rs 53.75 lakh and a woman in Berhampur of Rs 5.30 lakh.
Investigators said the accused used fake WhatsApp accounts and SIM cards registered in the names of other people to conceal his identity and evade detection. The money obtained through the frauds was allegedly spent on personal expenses, hotel stays, online gaming and betting applications. Police seized seven mobile phones, seven SIM cards, six power-cable chargers, a black travel adaptor kit, 12 rubber stamps, two stamp pads, a debit card, an Aadhaar card, a voter identity card, an Indian Railway identity card, a fake court order, two purportedly forged SBI blocked demand draft receipts and Rs 2,080 in cash from the accused.
Police have frozen or placed on hold around Rs 12.31 lakh in connection with the case. Sahani allegedly began his criminal activities in 2015 by cheating a person of Rs 1.08 lakh on the pretext of arranging a railway job. He allegedly committed a similar fraud involving Rs 1.80 lakh in 2017 before turning to matrimonial fraud.
Sahani’s criminal antecedents surface in cases registered at Konark police station in Puri district, Berhampur cyber crime police station, Chandrasekharpur police station in Bhubaneswar, and the CC & EO police station in Bhubaneswar.
Another accused in the Ganjam case, Uttam Kumar Sahu alias Miki (32), of Pasara village under Chakapada police station in Kandhamal district, had been arrested on August 2, 2026, and forwarded to court.