The suspect identified as Sameer Pareeja, arrested by the cyber cell of Mumbai police, was produced before the Mumbai court on Tuesday. He was remanded to police custody till March 9. The victim Seema (name changed) had lodged a complaint with the crime branch of Mumbai police on February 2.

According to the police, Pareeja and Seema came in contact through chatting at jeevansathi.com, a matrimonial website, in December 2007. Pareeja had posted fake details about himself on the website. He called himself Raj and attached photographs of a model in his profile.

Joint Commissioner (crime) Rakesh Maria told the reporters, “Chatting as Raj, he told Seema that he was working on a World Bank project in Tokyo. In due course of time, Seema fell in love with Raj. The couple also decided to get married.”

“One day Raj asked Seema to send her nude photographs to him. She sent the snaps showing complete trust on him. Assuring to marry her, Raj called her to Pune in April 2008 for meeting his close friend who was none other than Raj himself,” he said.

Seema fell prey to the fraud, as she had never seen Raj or any of his friends. So on April 18, when Seema reached Pune, Pareeja approached her as Raj’s friend at the Turf Club. He then took her to Hotel Taj Blue Diamond saying that Raj has asked him to make the best arrangements for her stay. Here he offered her liquor. When she turned partly unconscious he took her to a room, clicked her nude photographs and tried to rape her. He however fled as Seema raised an alarm.

Seema then returned to Mumbai. After some days, she came to know that the person whom she contacted in Pune was Raj himself. But she could not lodge a complaint as he threatened to post her nude photographs on the Internet.