Bhubaneswar: On the occasion of Valentine Day, Commissionerate Police have arrested a fraudster on charges of duping 14 women of crores of rupees after marrying them by posing as a senior medical officer.
The accused has been identified as Ramesh Chandra Swain (54) alia Bidhu Prakash Swain alias Dr Ramani Ranjan Swain of Bhagabanpur in Kendrapara district.
Giving details of the case here at a press conference, Bhubaneswar DCP Umashankar Dash said the accused has been arrested after a lady school teacher of New Delhi filed a complaint before Mahila Thana (women police station) in Bhubaneswar. The school teacher had married to the accused in 2018 in Delhi Arya Samaj, he said.
During investigation so far, the police have found that Mr.Swain has married at least 14 women between 1982 and 2019 by introducing himself as a deputy director in the Union Health Ministry. He used to build contact with the victims through matrimonial websites.
He is a father of five children of his first wife married in 1982 and second wife married in 2002, said Mr.Dash.
Mr.Swain used to target middle-aged single women who sought companionship and acquired their money before abandoning them. Lawyers, teachers, doctors and highly-educated women are among the victims, he said.
Mr.Swain used to gain their trust and abandon them after acquiring their money and valuables. He travelled across India seeking such matches and spent most of his time with one of his wives at Guwahati, Assam.
During the probe, the police found that he had married a woman official of the Central Armed Police Forces in Punjab and collected Rs 10 lakh from her. She also took away Rs 11 lakh from the Guru Dwara where the marriage ceremony was held by luring the authority to set up a hospital there, the DCP informed.
Earlier, the accused was arrested by Kerala police in 2006 for cheating around Rs 1 crore from 13 banks. He was also arrested by a task force of Hyderabad police after cheating many students by promising them to give admission in medical colleges.
He had collected about Rs 2 crore from the students including an owner of a nursing home.
“As he is a professional fraud, we suspect that many other women might be victims of Mr.Swain and may not come out in fear of hampering their social prestige and status. So, if required, we may form a special team of women police officials to identify all victims,” DCP Mr.Dash said.
A case has been registered against him at the Mahila police station under Sections 498 (A), 419, 468, 471 and 494 of the IPC. The police will also investigate the transaction of the fraud money by bringing him on remand, he added.
The CP has also conducted a search operation in Mr.Swain’s house and seized 11 ATM cards, 4 Aadhar cards, one Bihar school certificate and other materials being used by the fraudster.