Fraudsters Exploit Heartbreak, Steal Millions in Elaborate Online Scam

On August 9, 2025, the Mumbai crime branch unmasked a pair of fraudsters from Rajasthan who had been exploiting the emotional distress of individuals over broken relationships. The accused allegedly targeted vulnerable victims, luring them into paying for expensive "rituals" that claimed to remove "obstacles in love" and reunite lost lovers.

According to the investigation, a 52-year-old woman from South Mumbai had filed a complaint on August 1, 2025, reporting the theft of 129g of gold and nearly Rs 3.2 lakh in cash from her home. As the crime branch delved deeper, they discovered that the complainant's daughter had recently been estranged from her partner and had come across an Instagram profile promising to "find lost love in 24 hours."

Drawn by the hope of mending her relationship, the daughter had shared her contact details, leading to a con orchestrated by the accused. Posing as a cleric, the fraudsters convinced her to provide various items, including silver pots, gold lamps, and even gold nails, for "mystical rituals" to dissolve the barriers to her romance. The payments were funneled into shadowy third-party bank accounts, and the accused eventually traveled to Mumbai to collect the gold directly from the victim's home.

Through sustained questioning, the police were able to trace the suspects to Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan and arrest Vikas Manoj Kumar Meghwal (22) and Manoj Shyamsundar Nagpal (30). During interrogation, the duo confessed to the crime, and the police were able to recover all the stolen property. Investigators also found that the accused had similarly cheated young women in Haryana and Delhi.