The Indian Express ·
How Agra-based ‘cheat small, cheat many’ matrimonial scam worked
Delhi Police bust an alleged fake bride racket using Shaadi Partner profiles, staged calls and fees to dupe men seeking matrimonial matches.
Delhi Police have busted an alleged matrimonial fraud in which women posed as prospective brides and their family members to target men through the Shaadi Partner website. (Image generated using AI)
For men looking for a bride online, ‘shaadipartner.com’ seemed to offer what matrimonial websites promise: profiles, photographs, and a chance to speak directly to a prospective match. But behind such profiles, Delhi Police said, there were no brides at all.
There was a call centre in Agra, a group of women allegedly posing as prospective brides and their family members, and a series of payments dressed up as registration, activation and contact-unlocking fees.
According to Delhi Police, the operation was busted after a Delhi man lost Rs 15,000 – realising only later that he had been speaking not to the woman in the photograph but to a tele-caller playing the part of a bride. Senior police officials said the operation was run through a seemingly legitimate matrimonial firm and that its alleged mastermind was a 29-year-old practising advocate.
“The investigation began after a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal from the man, who was allegedly cheated through the matrimonial website ‘shaadipartner.com’,” DCP (Central) Rohit Rajbir Singh.
Investigators found that his money allegedly went into a Central Bank of India current account registered in the name of M/s Shaadi Partner Com. Banking KYC records allegedly identified Jaya as the sole proprietor and authorised signatory, said officers.
Further investigation into the bank account where the money was deposited linked it to six complaints from across the country – each involving the same modus operandi – a senior police official said.
Police said the operation was designed like a genuine matrimonial service. “callers would identify men looking for brides, assess their financial background, and then send them photographs of women sourced online. The men were also shown dummy profiles created on shaadipartner.com, with screenshots sent to them to make the service appear genuine,” Singh explained.
Once a man showed interest, the next step was a phone call. A woman employee would pose as the ‘bride’ and speak to the client, the police alleged. The conversations could continue for days, creating the impression that a genuine alliance was developing.
Then the match would fall through.
Callers identify men looking for brides online, assess their financial background, and send them photographs of women sourced from elsewhere on the internet.
Dummy profiles are shown on shaadipartner.com itself, with screenshots sent to the client to make the service look like a genuine matrimonial platform.
A woman employee at the call centre poses as the prospective bride and speaks directly to the client — sometimes over several days, building the impression of a real alliance forming.
The match "falls through" — the woman is supposedly found unsuitable due to Manglik dosh, family opposition, or because she has suddenly become engaged to someone else.
If the client asks for more matches, more profiles are offered. Some are given contact details of "families," who also reject the groom — citing social or economic differences.
If the client keeps asking, he's told to wait until a "suitable" profile becomes available. Police say this can keep a victim engaged for two to three months.
Eventually, the client is told his membership has expired. The "match" never existed — but the fees already paid are gone.
"A small financial loss may appear insignificant, but for fraudsters, 'cheat small, cheat many' is a deliberate strategy." Tele-callers were instructed never to collect more than ₹15,000 from any one person — a smaller loss was less likely to trigger an immediate complaint.
— DCP (Central) Rohit Rajbir Singh / Central District Police advisory
Note: Exact prices for the Medium and Ruby tiers were not specified in source reporting — only the ₹2,500–₹15,000 overall range across all four packages.
Officers said the woman would supposedly be found unsuitable because of Manglik dosh, family opposition, or because she had become engaged to someone else. If the client asked for more matches, more profiles were offered. Some clients were also given contact details of ‘families’, who would then reject the prospective groom, citing social or economic differences, said police.
If the client continued asking for matches, he would be told to wait until a suitable profile became available. According to Singh, this could keep the victim engaged for two or three months before he was eventually told that his membership had expired.
Police said clients could opt for packages — Mini, Medium, Ruby and Diamond — that ranged from Rs 2,500 to Rs 15,000.
The fraudsters, the DCP said, deliberately kept the financial loss to an individual victim low and tele-callers were instructed not to collect more than Rs 15,000 from any one person. The logic was simple: a smaller loss was less likely to trigger a complaint.
MSME registration — used to present the firm as a formally recognised small business
Labour Department registration — added to the appearance of a compliant, legitimate employer
A franchise agreement — allegedly shown to convince recruits they were joining an established matrimonial enterprise
Base monthly salary paid to women tele-callers
Incentive on money each caller managed to extract from victims
Minimum fraudulent collections each was expected to bring in monthly
Consequence for tele-callers who missed their monthly target
Date Central District Cyber Police raided the call centre at Ramaji Dham Apartment, Sikandra, Agra
Jaya (sole proprietor) arrested on the spot, along with eight women tele-callers apprehended
Note: Source reporting does not specify how many total women were employed at the call centre beyond the eight apprehended in the raid, or how many recruits came through each specific channel.
Singh described it as a “cheat small, cheat many” strategy, in which the operation could repeatedly target people while keeping individual losses relatively modest.
The operation also had the appearance of a conventional business.
Police said the women were allegedly recruited through job platforms such as WorkIndia and Apna App and through newspaper advertisements. Police said the firm’s MSME registration, Labour Department registration, and franchise agreement were allegedly used to convince recruits that they were joining a legitimate matrimonial enterprise.
“‘Employees’ were paid a base salary of Rs 6,000-7,000 and received a 10% incentive on the money they managed to extract from victims,” a police official said.
The women were allegedly given monthly targets as well. Each was expected to bring in at least Rs 15,000 in fraudulent collections, police said, failing which they faced ‘salary cuts’ or ‘termination’, according to police.
Police investigation also found that the alleged mastermind, advocate Amit Kumar, had created another layer between himself and the business.
DCP Singh said Kumar had floated M/s Shaadi Partner Com in Jaya’s name while banking channels and SIM cards were also procured in the firm’s name.
Kumar, meanwhile, allegedly presented himself as the firm’s “Legal Advisor”.
According to Singh, this arrangement allowed him to keep the ownership trail away from himself and create the impression that he was only providing legal assistance to the business.
On September 4, the call centre at Ramaji Dham Apartment in Sikandra, Agra, was raided by the Central District Cyber Police. Jaya was arrested on the spot and eight women tele-callers were apprehended.
Kumar, however, vanished. The DCP said he switched off his mobile phones and went underground after learning about the police action. Investigators then used technical surveillance to track his movements.
The alleged mastermind, a practising advocate, floats M/s Shaadi Partner Com in an associate's name — with banking channels and SIM cards also procured in the firm's name, keeping the ownership trail away from himself.
Playing "Legal Advisor"
He presents himself only as the firm's legal counsel — creating the impression he was providing routine legal assistance, not running the operation.
Tele-callers are instructed to refund money if they sense a victim is about to approach police. If a complaint is filed and bank accounts get frozen, he allegedly steps in — presenting the firm as legitimate and the complaint as a "misunderstanding" to get accounts unfrozen.
Central District Cyber Police raid the call centre at Ramaji Dham Apartment, Sikandra, Agra. Jaya is arrested on the spot, along with eight women tele-callers.
The alleged mastermind switches off his phones and goes underground after learning of the raid.
Investigators use technical surveillance to track his movements.
He is located in Agra's Kala Kunj area, travelling in a black Hyundai Creta with an "ADVOCATE" sticker on the windshield.
He produces his Uttar Pradesh State Bar Council credentials, claiming he was merely legal counsel. Investigators confront him with digital evidence linking him to the call centre — he is arrested.
Six complaints are confirmed tied to a single bank account so far. Police say material seized — 47 mobile phones and 7 desktop CPUs — points to potentially thousands of victims still to be identified.
Note: The associate named on the firm's registration and the exact number of total employees at the call centre beyond those apprehended were not further detailed in source reporting.
On September 8, they located him in Agra’s Kala Kunj area while he was travelling in a black Hyundai Creta with an “ADVOCATE” sticker on its windshield.
According to Singh, Kumar produced his Uttar Pradesh State Bar Council credentials and claimed that he was merely a legal counsel. Investigators confronted him with digital evidence linking him to the call centre, after which he was arrested.
The operation also had a way of containing complaints.
DCP Singh said callers were instructed to refund money if they sensed that a victim was about to approach the police.
But if a complaint was filed on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and the firm’s bank accounts were frozen, police said Kumar allegedly stepped in.
He would present the firm as a legitimate matrimonial service, and claim that the complaint was the result of a misunderstanding over services. The cheated amount would then be refunded, according to police.
Singh said this tactic was used to persuade authorities that the grievance had been resolved, allowing bank accounts to be unfrozen and the operation to continue.
The six complaints linked to the bank account may be only the beginning; DCP Singh said the material seized from the call centre indicates that there could be thousands of victims.
Investigators are examining 47 mobile phones, 7 desktop CPUs, WhatsApp conversations and financial transactions recovered during the investigation.
The Central District Police has asked victims to approach the Cyber Police Station at Kamla Market, with details of the fraud and relevant payment or transaction records. “A small financial loss may appear insignificant, but for fraudsters, ‘cheat small, cheat many’ is a deliberate strategy,” the police advisory states.
For investigators, the task now is to establish how far the network spread and how much money it duped.
Sakshi Chand is an Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, based in New Delhi. With over a decade of experience in investigative journalism, she is a leading voice on crime, the prison system, and institutional governance in the National Capital.
Specialization: Her reporting focus includes high-stakes crime, national security, prison reforms, and traffic governance.
Key Coverage: She has been on the frontlines of major events such as the 2G spectrum case, the 2020 North-East Delhi riots, and communal clashes across Uttar Pradesh (Kasganj, Aligarh).
Earlier Career: Before joining The Indian Express, she was a reporter for The Times of India.
Personal Interests: Outside of her career in journalism, Sakshi is a National-level basketball player and coach, bringing a unique sporting discipline to her professional life.
Major Recent Coverage (Late 2025)
Her reporting in the latter half of 2025 has been dominated by a major terror investigation and administrative accountability:
Throughout November and December 2025, Sakshi led the coverage of a car explosion near Delhi's Red Fort:
Forensic Breakthroughs: She reported on the use of TATP and ammonium nitrate in the IED and identified the shops where raw materials were sourced (Nov 14-16, 2025).
The "i20 Route": She meticulously tracked the journey of the vehicle used in the blast, tracing it to a Pulwama-based resident who entered Delhi via the Badarpur toll plaza (Nov 12, 2025).
Victim Support: She recently reported on the Delhi Police providing a list of damaged vehicle owners to the Finance Ministry to expedite insurance claims for those caught in the blast (Dec 4, 2025).
"Crackdown on Extortion Gangs": In December 2025, she reported on a syndicate that was blackmailing traffic cops. Following five arrests, the Special CP directed officers to report all such attempts (Dec 12, 2025).
"Corruption in the Ranks": She covered the arrest of five Delhi Police personnel by the Vigilance branch following a wave of public complaints (May 19, 2025).
Cold Cases & International Murders: She has extensively tracked the case of a man who allegedly killed his wife in London and fled to India, reporting on his "Proclaimed Offender" status and the denial of his anticipatory bail (May 2025).
"13,000 Homes for 90,000 Cops": A data-driven feature on why the majority of Delhi Police personnel are forced to live on rent despite the city's housing projects (May 4, 2025).
Traffic Decongestion: Using her interest in urban logistics, she detailed how the Traffic Police eased congestion on Vikas Marg by switching off signals and creating U-turns (April 2, 2025).
Sakshi Chand is known for a data-driven and investigative approach. She frequently uses forensic reports, CCTV analysis, and administrative data to go beyond the "official version" of a crime story. Her work in prison reporting is particularly noted for highlighting the legal and humanitarian conditions of foreign detention centers and local jails. ... Read More