‘NRI online boyfriend’ dupes Karnataka doctor of Rs 21 lakh

Bengaluru, Jan 23: A man claiming to be a doctor working in Venezuela allegedly duped a woman doctor from Bengaluru of Rs. 21.4 lakh in a marriage proposal scam.

The woman, Shreedevi G., 36, in her complaint to the Rajarajeshwarinagar police on Monday said she “met” the accused, who had identified himself as Rakesh Kapoor, on an online matrimony portal in October last year.

He claimed he was an NRI from the U.S. working at one St. Anthony’s hospital in Venezuela on contract. Shreedevi spoke to him frequently online and within weeks, Kapoor proposed that they get married. “He told her he would be visiting India for work in November, and would be in Delhi to purchase medical equipment. He promised to come to Bengaluru to finalise the proposal,” said a police officer.

A few days later, Kapoor allegedly called Shreedevi asking for money. He said he had placed an order for medical equipment worth Rs. 50 lakh with a firm in New Delhi, but the seller needed 10% of the money in advance. He claimed that he was unable to transfer the amount, and asked Shreedevi to help him out. He assured her that he would repay when they would meet in Bengaluru.

As requested, Shreedevi transferred the money to the bank account of the New Delhi firm. Kapoor thanked her for her help, but a week later he called back to say that his November visit had been postponed. He convinced her to transfer some funds to a few bank accounts, claiming that he had made more purchases.

He even got his associates to call her under the guise of employees of firms selling medical equipment.Over time, Shreedevi transferred all her savings to various accounts. Once he learned that she had used up all her savings, Kapoor disconnected his phone. Shreedevi made several attempts to contact him, before realising that she had been duped.

The police have taken up a case of cheating against Kapoor and six others, and efforts are on to track them down.