Ahmedabad: A 36-year-old widow has allegedly been cheated out of Rs 36.4 lakh and 18 tolas of gold by a man who said would marry her. According to the complaint filed with Navrangpura police on Tuesday, the man persuaded the woman to fund his business and took possession of her jewellery.The woman, who recently moved to the city from Hyderabad, told police that she befriended the accused on Facebook around seven months ago. He claimed to be a businessman from Kutch undergoing a divorce, and proposed marriage.He allegedly convinced her to redeem her gold ornaments pledged at a bank in Unjha, assuring that his brother would use them to arrange a Rs 20 lakh interest-free loan. She handed over jewellery weighing about 18 tolas, valued at Rs 16.5 lakh, besides transferring Rs 19.9 lakh in several instalments.Police said the accused repeatedly established physical relations with the woman on the assurance that they would marry. He later fixed a date for a court marriage in Ahmedabad but did not appear and switched off his phone.The complainant also alleged that he obtained a Rs 1 lakh loan against her credit card without her knowledge and that she later found out he had pledged the ornaments with a finance company.
