Indian conman marries 15 women in 10 years by posing as doctor, engineer

A conman from the Indian state of Karnataka managed to marry at least 35 women over the past ten years so he could rob them of their money, jewellery, and property.

The 35-year-old man had been identified as Mahesh KB Nayak. He reportedly began his elaborate scam in 2014 and met his victims through matrimonial websites. He would pose as an engineer or doctor and pretend that he was financially independent.

He would target single, financially independent women and, in some cases, divorcees or widows. He even set up a clinic in Tumakuru and hired a nurse to ensure that people believed his story.

Some women fell prey to his deceit, but some managed to spot errors in his story. His poor command of English is what gave him away in certain cases, according to a report in The Times of India. Even though he claimed to be many things, he studied only until the fifth grade.

He would have continued his scam if his latest victim had not approached the police. Nayak was arrested by Mysuru Police over the weekend.

His arrest came after one of his victims, a software engineer working in Bengaluru whom he married earlier this year, filed a complaint against him. According to local police, Nayak demanded money from the woman so he could start his clinic and threatened to kill her when she refused to do so.

He eventually fled with her jewellery worth Rs 800,000 (£7,530) and Rs 1.5 million (£14,118) in cash. According to a report in The Quint, Nayak would hire actors to play the roles of his family members and, in some cases, claim that his parents had passed away. This is how he ensured that just 5–6 people would attend these weddings.

Once the wedding is done, he collects whatever valuables and cash he can and flees the scene. "He leaves them saying that he has a surgery in some other state and that he shouldn't be disturbed for a few days. He tells them that he'll be busy with work, so they shouldn't call him, and that he will call them when he's free," a police official told The Quint.

"Later on, he tells them that he is entangled in a civil dispute at home and that if the police approached them, they should tell them that they have no idea who he is," said the official.

Nayak even has four kids with the women and meets most of these women rarely. It is being said that some of the victims did not come forward to file a complaint against him due to fear of embarrassment.

In another bizarre incident reported from India recently, a man married twin sisters in a grand ceremony held in Solapur, Maharashtra.

The man, identified as Atul Uttam Autade, married twin sisters Pinky Padgaonkar and Rinky Padgaonkar. The incident came to light after a video of the two women garlanding the man went viral on social media platforms. A bride garlands the groom as part of the Hindu wedding rituals.

Autade can be seen being lifted by friends as he tries to dodge the garlands from his two brides. He has now been charged with bigamy, which is an offence in India and carries a seven-year jail sentence.

According to local media reports, the three of them knew each other since childhood and wanted to stay close even after marriage. The man had reportedly helped the family of the twin sisters when their father passed away.

The families of both parties also accepted this unusual arrangement. However, a local resident filed a complaint against Autade, and the police were forced to launch an investigation into the matter.