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NEW DELHI: An unemployed techie and a computer teacher from Noida were arrested on Friday for their con job at one of India’s most popular matrimonial sites. The special operations squad of Delhi Police arrested them for allegedly cheating women looking for prospective mates on the site. They were remanded in 14-day judicial custody, police said, adding that they might be involved in more such cases.

Ashish Shankar (31), an MTech degree holder and resident of Vasundhara Enclave in east Delhi, wanted money for starting a new venture; Nitin Sachdeva (36), an MCA residing in Shahdara, did it for fun and some extra money, a senior policeman from the crime branch said. "Sachdeva used only a matrimonial site to get in touch with his victims, but Shankar also used the matrimonial columns of newspapers to do the same," the officer said.

Police said Shankar, who had previously worked for major tech brands, managed to take Rs 3.49 lakh from a poor girl from Pandav Nagar. "The girl had paid the money after Shankar claimed that he needed it to book a banquet hall and buy sarees for her from Chennai. The entire money was transferred to his bank account in Bangalore," said DCP (crime) Ashok Chand.

"Shankar’s fiance had advertised in the matrimonial section of a newspaper and he contacted her through email and snail mail. They had several meetings after which Shankar proposed her marriage. He convinced her to deposit Rs 3.41 lakh through cheques and Rs 8,000 cash in his account as marriage expenses. But after taking the money, he kept on delaying the wedding on one pretext or the other. The girl became suspicious and reported the matter to police, who arrested him," Chand said, adding that Shankar is already married.

Sachdeva landed in police net after the woman he was wooing got suspicious of his intentions when he demanded Rs 15,000 from her.

"In the first week of January, Sachdeva succeeded in obtaining Rs 5,000 from her to clear some dues. When he again asked her to pay Rs 15,000 on the pretext of his mother’s treatment, she became suspicious and lodged a complaint," Chand said. The victim said she had come across Sachdeva’s profile at the matrimony site in which he projected himself as a divorcee living alone. In reality, he is already married and lives with his wife and child at Shahdara.

"Sachdeva liked chatting with girls. So, he created a profile in a matrimonial site in April 2008 and projected himself as a divorcee. In December last year, he came in contact with the complainant and convinced her that he was willing to marry her. The investigation carried out at the matrimonial site revealed that he had contacted 14 users," said ACP Udaiveer Singh Rathi.