Ahmedabad man poses as police officer on matrimonial site, sexually assaults, robs 12 women

In a plot reminiscent of Bollywood movie Ladies vs Ricky Bahl, a man in Ahmedabad impersonated as crime branch official on matrimonial site to lure young women into marriage and robbing them.

He allegedly trapped over 12 women, robbed them of valuables and sexually assaulted them.

Waliv police of Vasai East arrested Himanshu Yogeshbhai Panchal, a 26-year-old from Ahmedabad, for trapping more than 12 women and physically assaulting them and financially extorting them.

He used to contact numerous women through his matrimonial profile. He would entice and deceive them, inviting them to meet him at lodges in the Vasai and Mumbai area.

Panchal tried to lure them for marriage, gifting fake diamond jewellery. The women also complained that he coerced them into physical relations during their first meeting. 

The fraudster extorted money from the women under various pretext. After establishing a relationship with the women, he would flee.

His decent pay, government official profession, fluency in English language, and possession of ‘iPhones’ lured women and prospective partners to marry him.

However, his residence in the police records showed opposite Janakpur RTO, Ahmedabad. 

On February 6, a 31-year-old woman, resident of Mira Road, Mumbai filed a complaint against Himanshu at Waliv police station. 

According to her statement, she met him at a hotel in Vasai through a matrimonial site.

Himanshu allegedly forced her to have a physical relationship with him by assuring to marry her. 

She further added that he invited her to Ahmedabad during January 21-23 and again indulged in physical relations.

On the same day, he sought gold from her when she left for Mumbai. Later on calling him, his contact was unreachable.

An assistant police inspector at the Waliv police station said that Himanshu was very skilled in impressing girls by his fluent English and the way he talked to them using five laptops and iphones. Inspector added that he used to make Whatsapp calls to girls only through hotel WiFi .

The police nabbed him using technical analysis. Himanshu admitted that he trapped over 12 women in the past 1.5 years.