Bhubaneswar: A doctor from Odisha who had duped around 14 women from across India after marrying them by posing as a senior official of the Health Ministry has been arrested by Commissionerate Police in Bhubaneswar.
Bhubaneswar DCP Umashankar Dash informed that the accused identified as Ramesh Swain had performed his first marriage in 1982 and second in 2002. He has fathered five children from the two marriages.
From 2002 to 2019, he had been targeting middle-aged single women through matrimonial sites. He used to emotionally exploit the women and gain their trust by posing as a senior official.
The women Swain targeted were highly-educated and working at senior positions at various government and private organisations. He had his eyes on their money.
He had in 2018 married a woman in Punjab who was at a senior position in the Central Armed Police Forces. He had duped around Rs 10 lakh from the woman.
Swain had also duped Rs 11 lakh from the Gurudwara where the marriage was held on the promise of sanctioning the permission for establishing a hospital.
Dash informed that police have already established contact with nine among the 14 women Swain has cheated. Police are also to conduct a financial investigation of his transactions.
During the search at his rented house in Bhubaneswar yesterday, 11 ATM cards, 4 Aadhaar cards, a School Certificate, and other incriminating documents were seized.
Commissionerate Police is to seek remand of Swain and if needed an all-women team will be formed for further probe. A professional counsellor will also be included in the team for counselling of his victims, the DCP added.
Swain had been earlier held in Hyderabad for duping unemployed youngsters on the pretext of providing jobs and getting them admissions in MBBS courses. He had collected more than Rs 2 crore from several persons across several States.
