Barnala man posing as NRI 'exploits' 4 women, dupes 20 others of cash, arrested

Jalandhar, December 11

The Phillaur police have arrested a Barnala man for allegedly sexually exploiting at least four women and duping 15-20 others of cash by posing himself as an NRI on online matrimonial portal shadi.com.

DSP Simranjit Singh said the case came to the fore after a woman lodged a complaint at the Goraya police station on December 6.

Imposter Harpal Singh of Behla village of Barnala was booked in a case registered against him. He was arrested two days later. The DSP said the woman had complained that she had been duped of money after an assurance of marriage. He said it was upon his arrest that revelations of more girls being his victims surfaced.

The accused had made an ID on the portal under a fake name Sandeep Singh. His biodata mentioned that he was a citizen of Canada and working there as an engineer with a reputed company. On March 28, the accused sent a message to the victim on her ID. During correspondence, he told her he would file a petition for her so that she too could join him in Canada. The boy took Rs 1.5 lakh from her and sought an additional Rs 60,000. She also complained that he stole her vital documents.

After his arrest, another woman complained to the police that he duped her of Rs 2 lakh by showing her a fake Aadhaar card in the name of Harman Singh and a fake Canadian visa. She said that he sexually exploited her. In a complaint by a third girl, it is mentioned that he duped her of Rs 85,000.