Police arrest Indian man who married 15 women via matchmaking websites

A conman who allegedly married at least 15 women he met online and fathered children with some of them was apprehended by police in India.

The man, identified as Mahesh KB Nayak, allegedly pretended to be an engineer or a doctor frequently in order to seduce trusting women into becoming his wives.

According to The Times of India, citing police sources, he even went as far as opening a clinic in the city of Tumakuru in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, where he hired a nurse in an effort to establish more credibility.

While the accused specifically targeted financially independent single women, his limited command of English frequently revealed his low literacy level, according to police sources. Apparently, the man only completed the fifth grade of his studies.

Since 2014, Nayak has reportedly married at least 15 women and fathered kids with four of them.

The New Indian Express newspaper reported that even after he allegedly looted their valuables, his victims, who were either widows or divorcees, were ashamed to report him because of social stigma.

Hemalatha, a 45-year-old software engineer whom he married this year, filed a complaint, which led to his arrest, according to the report.

She told the police that he had been pressuring her for money to start a clinic and had later fled with her jewellery worth INR 800,000 (£7,530) and INR 1.5 million (£14,118).

Her complaint led to the formation of a team by the authorities to find him and arrest the suspect in Tumakuru.

In the meantime, it became known that Nayak's father had accused him of attempting to kill someone.