A man who posed as a British national on social media and cheated a Mira Road woman, both emotionally and financially, has been arrested. He is a resident of Navi Mumbai.
The 54-year-old victim from Kashimira befriended ‘Tim Mathew’ on social networking site Facebook in 2014. Mathew claimed to be a British national in his 50s. They got chatting and soon fell in love. They even exchanged their mobile numbers.
On October 28, they agreed to meet in Delhi. But before she could board her flight she received a call from a woman who posed as a customs officer. She informed the victim that Mathew was detained at the Delhi airport as he was unable to pay customs duty for goods he was carrying.
The victim returned home and next day deposited Rs 1.60 lakh into an unknown bank account through an online transaction. On October 30, she deposited another Rs 1.25 lakh into yet another unknown bank account after receiving a call from a bank representative on behalf of Mathew.
She realized something was amiss when Mathew did not answer her calls after the money was received. She approached the Kashimira police.
Investigations revealed that Mathew was none other than Nerul resident Jatesh Agarwal (35). His accomplice Harendra Karwar (23) who posed as the bank representative has also been arrested. He is from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh. Four accomplices are absconding.
The police tracked the bank accounts provided to the victim and managed to nab Agarwal.