Bhubaneswar, Sep 13 (IANS): The Odisha Crime Branch on Friday arrested a person on the charges of sexually as well as financially exploiting women in Odisha and outside the state under the pretext of a ‘second marriage’.

The accused identified as Biranchi Narayan Nath is a resident of Chhendipada in Angul District of Odisha.

Based on the complaint lodged by one of the victims who hails from Cuttack district, the crime branch on Thursday registered a case against accused Nath. The accused was arrested on Friday and will be brought to court on Saturday.

The victim who lost her husband to a road accident in 2022 has been staying in Cuttack along with her family and two daughters. With an aim to remarry so as to ensure a safe and secure future for herself and her children, the victim widow October last year opened a profile in the same matrimonial portal where the accused has a profile as well.

The crime branch sources revealed that the accused created the profile under the tagline "Second Marriage," and disguised himself as a Railway Employee, Income Tax Inspector or Officer in Customs & Central Excise Department etc. He also used to dupe the victims with multiple names such as Manas Ratha, Pravakar Srivastav and Biranchi Narayan Nath etc.

“She received a request from one Pravakar Srivastav, aged 43, from Khamar, Talcher. He claimed to be a TTI in Railways at Visakhapatnam. He stated that he had lost his wife and mother and was living with his father, who he claimed was a manager at SBI in Rourkela. On October 7, 2023, Pravakar visited the victim’s home and expressed his desire to proceed with the marriage proposal,” said a senior crime branch official on Friday.

Meanwhile, the accused, who managed to clandestinely capture the victim’s nude videos during video calls, forced her to visit multiple trips outside Odisha and have a sexual relationship with him. The accused stayed at the victim’s house for five months after they got married. He used to physically abuse the victim and also extracted Rs 5 lakhs and 32 grams of gold from her.

The victim eventually discovered that Pravakar was involved in similar relationships with other women, prompting her to report the matter to the authorities.

During the course of investigation, the cops ascertained that the accused used to trap middle aged women who were unmarried, separated, widows or divorced women on matrimonial sites through his fake identity and disguising himself as senior government officers.

The crime branch official also revealed that the accused also promised many of his victims to get them job after marriage. He underwent marriage rituals with many of his victims in temples and later cohabited with them at their home but never took any of them to his own place. He used to capture objectionable videos and photos of the victims and later extort money from them.

During the investigation, police found that he had defrauded numerous other women and cases have been registered against him at various police stations in Berhampur, Angul, Balasore, Rourkela, Dhenkanal and Bhubaneswar. The accused has also been involved in similar cases in Rajasthan, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi.