<p>A 34-year-old man allegedly conned several divorcees and other women over 30 by promising to marry them and taking their money on one pretext or another. </p>.<p>Bengaluru police arrested Jagannath, a native of Vijayapura district and a resident of Ullal, West Bengaluru, after his latest victim filed a complaint. </p>.<p>Jagannath, a BA graduate, created matrimonial profiles claiming to be a civil engineer and giving his name as Vijay S, Ramesh and others. He specifically looked for divorcees or women aged 30 or more. As soon as a woman showed interest in him, he wooed her with glib-talking. He would tell her that beauty is not important for him but that he's looking for a traditional and cultured woman who could take care of the household. </p>.<p>Many women were desperate to get married because they were getting old or were divorced. Jagannath would offer to marry them with no strings attached. Once the woman came onboard, he would take her on an outing. He would spend the next two weeks building the "relationship" and gaining her trust. </p>.<p>Once the woman started trusting him, he would ask for money or jewellery citing a "dire emergency". After the worried woman arranged the money, he would just vanish. In some cases where women didn't give him money, he blackmailed them with their intimate photographs and videos. </p>.<p>Jagannath is suspected to have conned at least eight women. </p>.<p>Hennur police arrested Jagannath after he cheated on a 32-year-old woman from Kalyan Nagar. It was on March 28 that he contacted her, introducing himself as Vijay. They met on April 2, and he took her on an outing the same day. Within 15 days, she was blindly trusting him. </p>.<p>One day, he called her up and asked for Rs 5 lakh by claiming that he had met with an accident and lost his wallet, cash and documents. He promised to return the money a few days later. </p>.<p>The woman borrowed money from a friend and gave him Rs 3.5 lakh on April 21. Jagannath later got her to pawn her gold jewellery at a finance firm in Malleswaram and borrow Rs 90,000. Two days later, he started avoiding her and refused to marry her or return her money. </p>.<p>She waited for him and hoped he would return the money but she ran out of patience after he switched off his phone. </p>.<p>When Hennur police tracked him down, they discovered a case against him at the Bagalur police station in January this year. The woman in that case was conned out of 116 grams of jewellery. Banashankari police had arrested him last year in a similar case. Jagannath secured bail in each case and went back to the old ways. </p>.<p>After Jagannath's arrest, police seized Rs 1.5 lakh in cash, 116 grams of jewellery pledged at a finance firm, five mobile phones and 20 SIM cards. </p>.<p>Police have learnt that Jagannath was thrown out of home by his parents because of his activities. </p>.<p>A senior officer urged women to be careful of people like Jagannath. "He may get bail and cheat many more women in the future," the officer said. </p>
<p>A 34-year-old man allegedly conned several divorcees and other women over 30 by promising to marry them and taking their money on one pretext or another. </p>.<p>Bengaluru police arrested Jagannath, a native of Vijayapura district and a resident of Ullal, West Bengaluru, after his latest victim filed a complaint. </p>.<p>Jagannath, a BA graduate, created matrimonial profiles claiming to be a civil engineer and giving his name as Vijay S, Ramesh and others. He specifically looked for divorcees or women aged 30 or more. As soon as a woman showed interest in him, he wooed her with glib-talking. He would tell her that beauty is not important for him but that he's looking for a traditional and cultured woman who could take care of the household. </p>.<p>Many women were desperate to get married because they were getting old or were divorced. Jagannath would offer to marry them with no strings attached. Once the woman came onboard, he would take her on an outing. He would spend the next two weeks building the "relationship" and gaining her trust. </p>.<p>Once the woman started trusting him, he would ask for money or jewellery citing a "dire emergency". After the worried woman arranged the money, he would just vanish. In some cases where women didn't give him money, he blackmailed them with their intimate photographs and videos. </p>.<p>Jagannath is suspected to have conned at least eight women. </p>.<p>Hennur police arrested Jagannath after he cheated on a 32-year-old woman from Kalyan Nagar. It was on March 28 that he contacted her, introducing himself as Vijay. They met on April 2, and he took her on an outing the same day. Within 15 days, she was blindly trusting him. </p>.<p>One day, he called her up and asked for Rs 5 lakh by claiming that he had met with an accident and lost his wallet, cash and documents. He promised to return the money a few days later. </p>.<p>The woman borrowed money from a friend and gave him Rs 3.5 lakh on April 21. Jagannath later got her to pawn her gold jewellery at a finance firm in Malleswaram and borrow Rs 90,000. Two days later, he started avoiding her and refused to marry her or return her money. </p>.<p>She waited for him and hoped he would return the money but she ran out of patience after he switched off his phone. </p>.<p>When Hennur police tracked him down, they discovered a case against him at the Bagalur police station in January this year. The woman in that case was conned out of 116 grams of jewellery. Banashankari police had arrested him last year in a similar case. Jagannath secured bail in each case and went back to the old ways. </p>.<p>After Jagannath's arrest, police seized Rs 1.5 lakh in cash, 116 grams of jewellery pledged at a finance firm, five mobile phones and 20 SIM cards. </p>.<p>Police have learnt that Jagannath was thrown out of home by his parents because of his activities. </p>.<p>A senior officer urged women to be careful of people like Jagannath. "He may get bail and cheat many more women in the future," the officer said. </p>
