Real-life Ricky Bahl arrested for cheating women on matrimonial websites
A 32-year-old man was arrested for allegedly posing as a media professional, and cheating nearly two dozens of women on social media and matrimonial websites, police said yesterday. The accused identified as Abhishek Vashist was carrying a reward of Rs. 50,000 on his head, they said. Vashist was arrested on Saturday from near Prem Ashram Chowk in Haridwar, police said. Read more.
Vashist had lured 21 women through different matrimonial sites
Investigations revealed that the accused used to cheat people by making glass IDs on various matrimonial sites with different names, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) P S Kushwah said. According to the officer, the accused had lured 21 women through different matrimonial sites.
Posed as the owner of a company to woo women
The accused presented himself as the owner of a company by the name 'Akshaya Deep Media House,' and posed as an affluent businessman to woo women from well-to-do families. A case was filed at the Barakhamba Road police station against the accused by a Delhi-based family for cheating them. A city court had also issued a non-bailable warrant against him in the case.
Accused also posed as astrologer on Sadhana media channel
According to police, the accused claimed to have worked as a reporter in various reputed news-channels. In 2012, he posed as an astrologer (Acharya Atul Ji Maharaj) and appeared on Sadhana Media Channel programs. The channel has discontinued his programs after knowing his reality. Later, the channel issued an advisory, also available on YouTube, which said Acharya Atul Ji Maharaj is a fraud person.
Vashist was arrested in 2016 in a cheating case
Following the incident, Sadhana channel also received several complaints against the accused, the DCP said. In 2016, Vashist was arrested in a cheating case at a police station in Chandigarh when he tried to cheat a businessman in a bogus land deal. Later, he started cheating people by creating fake profiles on several matrimonial sites, and presented himself as a wealthy and unmarried person.
Vashist claimed of owning BMW car, house in Gurugram
His profile on these matrimonial sites claimed that he owned a BMW, a house in Gurugram and earns Rs. 20-25 lakhs annually, the officer said. In 2018, he came in contact with a girl from a Delhi-based family to whom he introduced himself as a media professional. He told the woman's family that his parents were no more and that he had no relatives.
After marrying, accused eloped with all jewelry and cash
Trusting Vashist's 'no parents, no relatives' version, the victim got married to him in March. The accused stayed with her for two weeks, and later eloped with all the jewelry and cash, which the couple had received as gifts, said the officer. Subsequently, a case was filed at the Barakhamba Road police station against the accused by the victim, Kushwah added.
The accused presented himself as news channel owner in Haridwar
A city court had issued a non-bailable warrant against Vashist in the case. Later, the accused shifted his base from Delhi-NCR to Haridwar where he presented himself as a news channel owner. To cheat more people, he began interviewing prospective reporters for his channel, and was in advance stage of negotiation with some persons for giving franchise of his news channel, the official said.
Vashist also promoted his fake news channel on Twitter, Facebook
Vashist also began promoting his channel on Facebook, Twitter. The logo of his channel was also apparently similar to the logo of Star New channel. This logo was also displayed by him on several documents. Police said a further investigation into the matter is underway.
