How 80-year-old man's desire to remarry leads to loss of Rs 1.77 lakhs

Hyderabad: An 80-year-old retired medical practitioner was allegedly cheated out of Rs 1.77 lakhs in a matrimonial scam, according to the Mahankali police. The victim, Irukumati Chinakondaiah, a native of Jamalapuram, Madira in Khammam district, had been residing at an ashram.

Chinakondaiah, who lost his wife a decade ago and has no children, recently decided to remarry for companionship and support. Two days ago, he came across a matrimonial advertisement in a newspaper and contacted the number provided, hoping to find a suitable partner. He was introduced to a woman named Saraswati, who expressed an interest in marrying him.

Chinakondaiah travelled to Hyderabad and stayed at Ganesh Lodge in Dilsukhnagar. On October 25, Saraswati and a representative from the marriage bureau visited him at his accommodation. The three then went to the Chandana Brothers store in Secunderabad by auto-rickshaw. While shopping, Saraswati and the representative suggested purchasing a black bead garland, a traditional item and sarees.

Chinakondaiah handed over his Kotak Mahindra debit card and shared the PIN to make a payment. However, Saraswati allegedly used the card to withdraw Rs 1.77 lakhs from his account. After completing the transaction, the two women returned the card and left the store. Chinakondaiah only realised the fraud when he received a bank notification about the debit.

He immediately attempted to contact Saraswati and the marriage bureau representative, but their phones were switched off.