15 August,2024 06:48 AM IST | Mumbai | Diwakar Sharma
CCTV grab of the accused fleeing in an auto from the villa in Lonavala after drugging his victims; (left) the fraudster ‘groom’ Mohit Chaddha
They were expecting a wedding plan but got drugged and robbed instead. A groom-to-be drugged a Ludhiana-based woman and her entire family at a villa in Green Valley of Lonavala. He escaped with their belongings, including iPhones and cash totalling Rs 12 lakh. The family remained sedated for 18 hours and woke up only to discover they had been robbed.
The family is now embarrassed and regrets falling victim to the organised matrimonial fraud at the hands of a man who claimed to be well-settled in Canada.
The three fraudsters included the groom Mohit Chaddha, his uncle Harjeet Singh and their servant Satish Rao. They had won the confidence of a Ludhiana-based family who had arrived at Mumbai airport on August 7 and travelled to Lonavala where the fraudsters had booked a villa for six nights.
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The prospective bride is a 41-year-old woman who runs a boutique at her house in Ludhiana. She lives with her two children, a 17-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter. After divorcing her husband, the woman decided to remarry for which she created an account on a matrimonial website. She received a request from Chaddha on July 28.
"I accepted his request and started to chat with him. He pretended to be running a franchise business dealing in supplying food packets to various airlines. He told me that he is in India at present in search of manpower," said the woman.
"Chaddha told me that he was in Mumbai at the moment and would return to Canada on August 25. He wanted to meet me so I went along with my elder sister on July 29. We all met in Mumbai, had a discussion and came back to Ludhiana on the same day."
"We wanted to invite him to Ludhiana but he told me that he was searching for manpower for his business for which he visits India once in two years. He promised to get my nephews jobs in Canada," she said.
"He was fluent in Punjabi, Hindi and English. He claimed to be a native of Hoshiarpur and owned properties in Ludhiana. But all his credentials are now turning out to be fake," she said.
"Since he was to return to Canada soon, he wanted to get my passport quickly. He would shower his affection on both the children who live with me. He wanted to get their passports made as well. He told me that he would first interview the unemployed youth of my family members in Mumbai before finalising a job in Canada for them," she said.
"Nine members of my family arrived in Mumbai on August 7 including my brother, sister, both my children, nephews, daughter of a family friend and others. Chaddha's uncle Harjeet Singh and his servant Satish Rao had come to receive us," she said.
"Chaddha had arranged two cabs for us, and we arrived in Lonavala, where rooms had been reserved at Lion's Villa. By now, Chaddha had told me that he has extended his stay in India and will return to Canada on September 1," she added. "We all had come to Lonavala to fix the dates for engagement and marriage besides facilitating interviews of job aspirants. Chaddha was a sweet talker and pretended to be extra caring, however, he was a heavy drinker. He would drink at least 13 to 14 pegs of whiskey at night," she said.
"On August 11, Chaddha told my unemployed family members that they would receive interview calls from the Canadian embassy. They were a little nervous as they couldn't speak fluent English and feared they would not be able to clear the interview. But Chaddha told them not to worry," she said.
During his five days spent together with the gullible family members, Chaddha had learnt which members operate internet banking on their cell phones and the balance in their bank accounts. After lunch on August 12, all twelve of us, including nine from our side and three from Chaddha's, were gathered in a room, chatting. During this time, Chaddha offered us mango shakes. Everyone agreed except his uncle, who preferred a banana shake. Chaddha's servant, Rao, was sent to fetch vada pav from a nearby eatery," she said.
"Chaddha had promised to facilitate interview calls from the Canadian embassy on our cell phones, so he collected all our phones to avoid any disturbances during the calls. Only my son's and brother's phones remained with us," she said.
"Around 3.30 pm, the drinks, including Chaddha's uncle's banana shake, were served. Shortly after drinking the mango shake, we all began feeling drowsy and sedated. Although I had only taken a sip, I too felt sleepy. Our drinks were heavily spiked," she said.
"I somehow woke up around 9 pm and saw everyone in the room sleeping in disarray. I picked up my brother's cell phone and called Chaddha, who kept insisting he would arrive at the villa in a few minutes but he never returned," she said.
"Our mobile phones, R2 lakh in cash, and R7.5 lakh transferred to another account were gone," she added.
The family members from Ludhiana later checked the credentials Chaddha had used to book the villa and found out they were all fake.
Lonavala City police have registered an FIR against Chaddha under section 305(a) (theft) of BNS, 2023. No arrests have been made so far.
When contacted, Inspector Suhas Jagtap of Lonavla City Police said, "We are in the process of adding relevant Sections 123 (causing hurt using poison, etc., with intent to commit an offence), 316 (criminal breach of trust), and 318 (cheating) of BNS." When asked whether the Information Technology Act would also be applied, Jagtap said, "At present, the IT Act is not required in this case. But as the investigation progresses, we will assess if it becomes necessary."
However, Jagtap did not explain why Chaddha's accomplices were not named in the FIR. He added, "People should be extra cautious when sharing details with individuals they meet online, as fake profiles can easily be created. A physical background check is essential before finalising any arrangements, rather than placing blind trust in such people."
41
Age of the victim
