Accused posed as doctor on matrimonial site; police suspect over 3,000 women may have been targeted
A man of Indian origin holding an Australian passport has been arrested by Pune Police for allegedly duping a woman out of ₹3.6 crore after posing as ‘Dr Rohit Oberoi’ on a matrimonial website. The accused, Abhishek Shukla, originally from Lucknow and currently residing in Perth, Australia, was intercepted at Mumbai Airport on Wednesday following a Look-Out Circular (LOC) issued in his name, reported daijiworld.com.
According to officials, the victim—a Delhi native currently living in Pune—had recently received ₹5 crore in alimony and was preparing to launch a mindfulness and spirituality business for children. Shukla, masquerading as a wealthy medical professional interested in marriage, proposed a fabricated international expansion plan for her venture.
He then introduced her to fictitious Singapore-based associates, ‘Yvonne Handayani’ and ‘Vincent Kuan’, and gradually convinced her to transfer ₹3.6 crore to Indian and Singaporean bank accounts.
Posing as a doctor on a marriage platform, the accused allegedly conned a Pune-based woman and may have contacted over 3,000 others. Cyber police launch wider investigation
In September 2024, the woman received an email stating that ‘Dr Oberoi’ had died of cancer, which raised suspicions. After consulting a friend, she filed a formal complaint with Pune Cyber Police in November.
Further investigation uncovered that Shukla had created fake profiles and reached out to over 3,100 women on various matrimonial platforms.
“This may be a much larger racket than initially suspected,” said Additional CP Pankaj Deshmukh.
Authorities have now appealed to other potential victims to come forward. They can contact the Pune Cyber Police by emailing crimecyber.pune@nic.in or calling 7058719371 / 7058719375.
Police are also investigating whether the accounts and entities Shukla used in Singapore and India were part of a larger organised fraud network.
