Nigerian man who duped over 300 Indian women on marriage pretext arrested in Delhi

Representational image

Noida: A Nigerian national staying in Delhi has been arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police on the charge of cheating at least 300 women and duping them of crores of rupees on the pretext of marriage, officials said on Friday. The accused befriended women through social media and matrimonial websites, where he introduced himself as a non-resident Indian (NRI) settled in Canada and a prospective groom, the officials said. Garuba Galumje (38), who hails from Lagos in Nigeria, was staying in the Kishan Garh area of South Delhi and has been arrested by officials of the Cyber Crime police station in Noida, they said.

"The accused has been arrested in connection with a complaint from a woman who lives in Meerut district of UP. She claimed that she had registered herself on Jeevansathi website for marriage. A man approached her through the website and introduced himself as Indo-Canadian NRI Sanjay Singh," Inspector Reeta Yadav, in-charge of the Noida Cyber Crime police station, said.

"The man eventually gained her confidence and made emotional appeals as he tricked her into transferring Rs 60 lakh in multiple instalments into his various bank accounts before she realised the fraud," Yadav told reporters.

When the matter was brought to the police, an investigation was taken up and the culprit tracked down to be operating from Delhi and arrested, said the inspector, who led the cyber police team.

"During questioning, we came across multiple similar cases involving Garuba. There are over 300 women who he had targeted through various popular websites, and cheated them of crores. On social media and matrimonial websites, he used profile pictures of smart-looking men and not his own in order to dupe women," Yadav said.

According to the police, Garuba had first come to India in February 2019 on a six-month visa in connection with a business related to human hair and readymade garments.

He once again came to India on March 18 on a medical visa till May 22 but had over-stayed while relocating himself several times during the period, the police said.

Yadav told PTI that a passport belonging to Garuba has been seized but it does not have any stamps of Indian authorities on it, while no visa-related document was found from his possession immediately.

"Garuba has been transferring the fraud money to his family members in Nigeria through international money exchange services," police added.

During the arrest, the police recovered a passport, seven mobile phones, 15 photocopies of documents which included forged letters in the names of Bank of Thailand, National Bank of Dubai, the Interpol, the US Department of State and the FBI, officials said.

An FIR has been lodged against the accused under Indian Penal Code 406 (criminal breach of trust), 419 (cheating by impersonation) and Sections 420 (cheating), and under provisions of the Information Technology Act, they added.

The Cyber Crime department has, meanwhile, urged people to be cautious during online transactions and social media activities in order to avoid financial frauds or any other hassles.

The police also urged people to approach it on dedicated helpline number 1930 or 112 to report any cyber-related case.