Surat: A 42-year-old woman has filed a complaint at the Khatodara police station, accusing a man of cheating her of Rs 15 lakh by luring her with a false promise of marriage and maintaining a physical relationship with her over several years. The accused, identified as Raj Prajapati, allegedly concealed his marital status while repeatedly assuring the woman that he would marry her.According to the complaint, the woman lost her husband in 2014 and thereafter began living with her two children at her parental home along with her mother and two brothers. In Jan 2016, she received a call from an unknown number. The caller introduced himself as Raj Prajapati, and the two gradually became friends.The woman stated that Prajapati gained her trust after visiting her home when one of her brothers fell ill and presenting himself as an unmarried man. Over time, their relationship deepened.In 2019, Prajapati allegedly took the woman to the Saibaba temple in Navsari, where he symbolically married her by tying a mangal sutra and promised that their marriage would be formally registered soon. However, the registered marriage never took place, with Prajapati allegedly giving repeated excuses over the years.During this period, the woman claimed that Prajapati took Rs 15 lakh from her in multiple transactions, citing his mother’s medical treatment and other personal needs.The woman later discovered that Prajapati was already married and was living with his son in the Pandesara area. A case has been registered under Sections 69, 318(4), and 54 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
