Posed as doctor, engineer; Kerala man held for cheating nearly 100 women through marriage fraud

Cherthala, Alappuzha: A 45-year-old man in Kerala has been arrested for allegedly cheating women, both through marriage and otherwise, and stealing their gold and money.

Police questioning revealed that he had allegedly duped nearly 100 women, prompting the police to initiate a special investigation.

Biju Antony (45), hailing from Mananthavady in Wayanad district, was arrested by the Cherthala police on Thursday. He has a wife and children in Sulthan Bathery.

In 2020, he married a woman named Remya from Vayalar in Cherthala and disappeared three days later. He allegedly took Rs 30,000 from her on the pretext of starting a hotel and fled after stealing seven sovereigns of gold from a cupboard. The police registered a case based on Remya’s complaint and began an investigation.

He is also facing a rape case involving a woman from Taliparamba in Kannur district whom he allegedly befriended after placing a matrimonial advertisement. According to the case registered at the Manjeshwar police station, he took the woman to a lodge in Hosangadi in Karnataka, raped her and fled with three-and-a-half sovereigns of gold.

Although he is suspected of having carried out similar frauds in several places, many victims have reportedly been reluctant to file complaints.

His modus operandi was to place matrimonial advertisements, claiming to be a doctor, and befriend women before allegedly cheating them and stealing their gold ornaments. He also allegedly collected money from victims on the pretext of starting hospitals, hotels and other businesses. He had previously served a sentence in a gold theft case under the jurisdiction of the Kannur Town police station.

Different names in Vayalar and Manjeri

Biju allegedly used different names in different places, including Rajesh, Suresh and Antony. He introduced himself as a doctor, engineer or cook, depending on the circumstances, and employed different methods to cheat his victims.

Police said he had allegedly cheated a woman in Manjeri using the name Rajesh. Four years later, when he arrived in Vayalar in Cherthala, he allegedly assumed the identity of Suresh.