Delhi: In Delhi, a man was arrested by the police for allegedly posing as a rich bachelor on a matrimonial site to cheat a woman out of over Rs.3 lakh. The man, identified as Vishal Balyan, is a failed businessman who hails from Muzaffarnagar and holds an MBA degree. He had worked in the human resource department for a multinational company (MNC) in Gurugram until 2021 before opening a restaurant in the same city that failed during the second wave of Covid-19 in the same year.
According to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Mr. Jitendra Kumar Meena, to maintain his “lavish lifestyle,” Balyan allegedly decided to use matrimonial websites to dupe women seeking grooms. He changed his name to Vishal Raghuvanshi on the matrimonial site, police said. One of the women he allegedly targeted was a 26-year-old Delhi resident who works in an MNC in Gurugram and was looking for a groom when she came across Raghuvanshi’s profile on a matrimonial site in February.
As per the police, Balyan posed as an orphan whose grandparents live in America to make the woman believe that he was very rich. He allegedly began sending her photos of expensive cars, such as Mercedes, Audi, and Porsche, in March and sought her suggestion on which car to buy. To make her believe that he already owned a car and was looking to buy a much more expensive vehicle, Balyan allegedly rented a Tata Nexon car for a fortnight by paying Rs.2, 500 per day. He also showed her photos of different farmhouses and villas in NCR to pass them off as his own.
The police officer anonymously quoted above said that the properties that Balyan passed off as his own included a bungalow belonging to the relative of a national political leader. “Balyan would also pass off hotel rooms as his bedroom and their parks as his backyard,” said the officer. Additionally, Balyan allegedly told the woman that he ran a chain of successful restaurants in Gurugram.
Once the victim was convinced of the status he was trying to portray, Balyan allegedly told her that he could arrange the latest iPhone model at a price much cheaper than the market rate by sourcing the phones from his grandparents. The woman ended up transferring Rs.3.05 lakh to him as payment for several iPhones that she wanted to buy for her relatives and friends. Once Balyan got the money, he allegedly cut all ties with her and blocked her on social media after telling her that he met an accident and was hospitalized in Jaipur.
The victim realized that she had been cheated and reached out to the police in early April. With the police’s approval, the victim coached another woman to ensnare the suspect. As planned, that woman showed interest in Balyan’s profile, and he quickly got back to her. The victim then began guiding that woman on the type of conversation she could have with him to lure him into attempting the same modus operandi with her as well.
The plan worked as Balyan allegedly reacted the same way that the police and the victim had expected. Balyan allegedly posed as the same rich bachelor and began a conversation with the woman. The woman managed to lure the suspect into meeting her in Gurugram and then dropping her to a neighbourhood in west Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh, where a police team lay in wait on Tuesday. Balyan has been booked for cheating, and the police are investigating his possible involvement in cheating other women on matrimonial sites.
