BHUBANESWAR: A 43-year-old conman who allegedly trapped over 77 women on the pretext of marriage and cheated them of cash and valuables worth lakhs of rupees was arrested by the Crime Branch on Friday.
The Cyber Crime unit of CID-CB which nabbed Biranchi Narayan Nath, stumbled upon more than 300 intimate photographs of women along with their WhatsApp chats with the accused from three mobile phones seized from his possession.
Sources said the CB was ascertaining the exact number of victims cheated by Nath, a native of Chhendipada in Angul. Preliminary probe suggested he has been committing such frauds since 2013.
Initial investigation revealed the accused cheated women not only in Odisha but also across Rajasthan, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and New Delhi.
In Odisha, at least nine cases were earlier registered against him by Baidyanathpur, Jarpada, Balasore Sadar, Chhend, Dhenkanal Town, Nayapalli, Balipatna and Angul Town police stations for marrying women and extorting them.
Nath ended up in jail at least thrice but continued his fraud. He would pose as an employee of the railways, income tax department, customs and central excise and even as a neurosurgeon.
The accused claimed to have degrees in MA in Political Science, English as well as law. He is apparently fluent in four languages. Police said, he tied the knot with many women in temples. On matrimonial sites, Nath mostly targeted middle-aged women who were separated or divorced and also widows.
He used his original name as well as fake identities like Pravakar Srivastav and Manas Rath.
After marrying the women, he used to stay in their houses and never took any of them to his home. In the case registered by CB, Nath approached a woman from Cuttack who had lost her husband in a road accident in 2022 and was staying with her two daughters. The victim received a request from Nath in October last year under the fake name of Pravakar Srivastav. He claimed to be working as a travel ticket inspector in railways posted in Visakhapatnam.
After marrying the woman deceitfully, CB sources said, Nath stayed at her house for about five months and exploited her. He also physically assaulted her whenever she confronted him over his misbehaviour. He extorted Rs 5 lakh and 32 gram gold ornaments from her, the complaint said.
The woman continued to endure the abuse as Nath threatened to make her private photographs and videos viral. When she found out that he was involved with other women too, she lodged a complaint with the CB.
“Preliminary probe suggests he used to emotionally manipulate women and offered to support their children, if they had any. In some instances, he also promised the women jobs after their marriage,” said a CB officer.