A shocking fraud case has surfaced from Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh, where a retired technician was duped of Rs 9.50 lakh on the pretext of marriage. The way the fraudsters carried out the entire scam left even the police stunned. The accused used to speak in a woman's voice and posed as a retired railway engineer to trap the victim. Police have arrested three men linked to an interstate gang from Odisha in connection with the case.
Three gang members arrested
Raipur's Anti Crime and Cyber Unit, along with Azad Chowk police, carried out a joint operation and arrested three accused from Balangir district in Odisha. The arrested men have been identified as Jaswant Doondi, Manoj Rana and Yash Nayak. According to police, the trio together cheated a retired technician of Rs 9.50 lakh by promising marriage. During questioning, it emerged that the accused used to mimic a woman's voice while talking to the victim so that he would not suspect anything.
Introduced through a marriage bureau, trust built slowly
The victim, Manharan Tikariha, was introduced to a woman named 'Rajni Sharma' through a marriage bureau in Delhi. The woman claimed to be a resident of Korba and said she had retired as a railway engineer. As conversations continued, she gradually gained the victim's trust, and this trust was later exploited to carry out the entire fraud.
How the Rs 9.50 lakh was extracted
Once the trust was established, the accused began asking the victim for money on various pretexts, including marriage expenses, a family function, an accident and medical treatment. Between June 15, 2025 and January 9, 2026, the victim deposited a total of Rs 9,50,000 into bank accounts in several installments. However, after receiving the money, the woman never came to meet him.
How the case reached the police
When there was no response from the woman for a long time, the distressed victim approached the police station and lodged a complaint detailing the entire episode. Following this, Raipur police, with help from the Anti Crime and Cyber Unit, launched an investigation and traced the accused. The team first detained Jaswant Doondi and questioned him. During interrogation, he admitted to committing the fraud along with Manoj Rana and Yash Nayak. Police have also seized three mobile phones from the accused, which were used to contact victims.
Search for other gang members continues
Police are now working to gather information about other members linked to the gang based on the interrogation. Initial investigation suggests that this gang has been cheating people using similar methods in the name of marriage. Police say that examining the seized mobile phones could reveal more victims of the gang.
