Rise in matrimonial scams: Married man accused of rape, blackmail; Woman defrauded of

Thane: With an alarming rise in matrimonial frauds, two cases were recently registered in Thane. In Ambernath, a married man allegedly lured a banker on promise of marriage and allegedly raped and cheated her. In another incident, a woman was defrauded of ₹39 lakh by a man from abroad on the pretext of marriage.
In the first case, a 37-year-old woman, seeking a successful second marriage, met Shashank Patil, 40, through a matrimonial site. After he made several promises, she decided to trust him and agreed to meet him at a restaurant in Ambernath. According to police, the complainant in her statement said that the accused allegedly spiked her drink when they met, which made her feel dizzy.
The next morning when she woke up, she discovered that she was in a hotel room naked. Initially, the accused allegedly assured her of marriage and asked her not to worry. However, he later demanded money from her, and when she refused, he started blackmailing her by threatening to upload her nude photos online.
After digging around a bit about the accused, she found out about his wife and children. The victim went to the police station and filed a case against the accused. “The accused is currently absconding. We have registered the case, and the investigation is ongoing,” said a police officer from Ambernath.
In the second case, a 46-year-old woman from Vithhalwadi fell victim to a scam orchestrated by an unknown individual on Instagram and a matrimonial website. The fraudster, who initially posed as a potential marriage partner, manipulated the victim into believing that her documents were incomplete and that she was being detained by Mumbai Immigration.
According to a Vithhalwadi police officer, the scam unfolded between August 23 and September 8, 2024. The perpetrator falsely claimed that a fine of 3 lakh euros was required to resolve the issue and demanded that the victim transfer this amount online. The victim, believing the false claims, ended up transferring a total of ₹39,49,169.
Upon realizing the deceit, the victim filed a complaint, and a case was registered under sections 66(c) and 66(d) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.