NRI ‘Romeo’ caught cheating widow

NRI ‘Romeo’ caught cheating widow and other girls

Police say Shrenik Pandit, who recently returned to the city from Australia, had registered himself on matrimonial sites and cheated at least 10 women in the past



Faking his identify on online matrimonial sites and taking undue advantage of women has landed a Satellite youth behind bars. Shrenik Pandit (37) was nabbed on Wednesday after a widow he duped in similar fashion lodged a complaint against him at the Mahila police station.
Investigations revealed Pandit had cheated at least 10 women in the past. After his cover was blown, most of the girls got their revenge; they gathered at a pre-determined spot, called him over and gave him a sound spanking.
Police said Pandit had been living in Australia for four years. He registered himself on matrimonial websites under several aliases including Rohit Patel, Rohit Pandit etc. His profile indicated he was based in Sydney, had a cushy job and was unmarried. It later transpired, he had married three women on the sly on the basis of the fake identity.
Pandit was approached by a thirtythree-year-old widow, Praveena (name changed) on one such website, Bharatmartimonial.com about three months ago. Praveena was a teacher who lost her husband in 2007 and was looking for a life partner.
Pandit, who was still in Australia, wasn’t affected despite she telling him that she was a widow and had a five-year-old son. He wrote on email that she wanted to marry her. He also agreed to deposit a ‘security’ of Rs 15 lakh in a bank for her son on her request.
Pandit landed in the city from Australia on September 15, and asked her where they could meet. The two met at Shivranjini crossroad from where they went on a drive in his car.
The man tried to get intimate with her, the woman said in her complaint. She said she didn’t resist him because he had promised to marry her. A few days and some meetings later, she told him it was time they got married.
Praveena suggested that they tie the knot at Dholeshwar Mahadev Mandir in Satellite on September 22. Pandit, however, had other plans. On the appointed day, he told her going to a temple was not necessary, and instead applied ‘sindoor’ on her forehead in the car.
Pandit never took Praveena to his house, though he gave her his true address in Satellite. The two met for a few more days after which he ‘disappeared’. “He wouldn’t take my calls or met me after September 26,” the woman told the police. Soon, she realised he had been tricked.
But all was not lost. Praveena recalled she had been using one of his SIM cards, which she had asked from soon after he reached Ahmedabad. She looked up the numbers stored on the SIM, and made calls on all of them. All barring one belonged to women Pandit had been cheating on. The aggrieved woman told them she too had been cheated and that they could get back at him and get him arrested.
One of Pandit’s earlier victims was a woman from Surat whom Praveena teamed up with to fix him. According to the plan, all the women would meet at Wide Angle multiplex and call Pandit over on Thursday.
He reached the rendezvous around 8 pm unaware of what he was in for. Suddenly, the all women confronted him and gave him the trashing of his life. The Crime Branch was in tow. It was all over for Pandit. He was arrested and taken away to Crime Branch HQ in Gaekwad Haveli.
He was presented in the court of urgent metropolitan magistrate P T Patel which sent him in five days’ remand till October 13. Crime Branch PI K K Patel told AM, “We have seized a camera from the accused and are investigating if they contain the women’s pictures. We are also trying to see what all his email account contains. We’ll also take the women’s statements.”