Mumbai:
A 45-year-old man was arrested yesterday by a squad led by the Additional Police Commissioner (western region) for allegedly impersonating a NASA scientist and cheating single women on matrimony sites. According to cops, the accused, identified as Atul Sharma, a resident of Lokhandwala in Andheri (West) used to meet eligible single women through matrimonial websites.
He would make wedding plans with them, and lure them into investing huge amounts in property. He would then flee with the money. Twelve days ago, a 40-year-old doctor had registered a complaint with the police, claiming that she had met Mr Sharma through a matrimonial site. He then offered to marry her, saying that he was an IIT graduate and had been working for NASA as a scientist.
He even told the woman that he was going to be awarded the Nobel prize. He showed her photographs of himself with Barack Obama and George Bush. Having sufficiently convinced her of his merit, he told her to invest Rs 25 lakh for a plot in Panvel, claiming that he could get low prices as he had connections with government officers.
The woman gave Mr Sharma Rs 25 lakh, after which he disappeared. Using the mobile number that he had given the woman, cops traced the man to Oshiwara. "Sharma used to show off with expensive cars and meetings in five-star hotels. Sharma has cheated many women, including the doctor," said Police Inspector Gyaneshwar Dhanaware from the special squad.