Indian police have arrested a man in the southern city of Mysuru for marrying 15 women in ten years and stealing jewellery, money and property from them worth 30 million rupees ($365,000).
Mahesh Nayak, 45, was arrested on July 7 for alleged polygamy after luring women he met on matrimonial websites into marrying him by pretending to be a doctor or an engineer.
Polygamy, the practice of having more than one spouse, is illegal under the Indian Penal Code but Muslim men are allowed to have up to four wives under Sharia Islamic law.
The man has five children from three wives, police told The National.
Mr Nayak was in contact with nine other women before his arrest, which was instigated by a woman he married in January after stealing her gold jewellery and 1.5 million rupees, police said.
The police were able to track his location through his mobile phone.
“He had been cheating women since 2013. We tracked him through his mobile phone. He has stolen gold, money or property from three women including the most recent victim,” Radha M, from the Kuvempunagar police said.
“In one case, he transferred a property of a woman worth 30 million rupees to his name,” she added.
Mr Nayak, who dropped out of school, pretended to be an orphan and hired people to pose as his friends or distant relatives, police said, adding that he specifically targeted educated, independent women, many of whom were divorced or widowed.
He allegedly paid 3000 rupees to 10,000 rupees to his “relatives” and “friends”, and spent two to three days with each of his new brides in rented accommodation before running away with their jewellery or cash.
He told his wives not to disclose his location when contacted, as he was “involved in a civil dispute”.
Despite many women learning the truth, they did not approach the police in fear of social stigma, it has been reported.
The scam came to an end when the 45-year-old victim approached police after Mr Nayak ran away from their home. In her complaint, she said the alleged con man had intended to set up a clinic at her house and demanded her to secure a loan of seven million rupees, but when she refused, he ran away with 1.5 million rupees in cash and more than 200 grams of gold.
“He had a very luxurious lifestyle. We have recovered two cars, seven mobile phones and two lakhs ($2,400) in a case,” Radha M said.
“He moved from hotel to hotel while absconding or would stay at one of his wives’ homes. The first victim had filed a case against him in 2013 when he initially absconded but the investigation reached a dead end due to lack of leads.”
Police have charged him with cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property, criminal breach of trust, criminal intimidation and theft.
