Doctor, lawyer, ITBP commandant: How Odisha serial groom fooled 18 women

Who was the man from Odisha who had 18 wives?How did he fool 18 women from 10 states of India into marriage for money?How to fake love? This guy is the masterTrue crime drama podcast on the serial groom from Odisha's KendraparaA man from Odisha’s Kendrapara district allegedly conned at least 18 women across 10 states of India into marrying him.Suresh Swain — or for some women he married Subhas Swain — was no handsome hunk. He was 66-years-old, just a little over five-feet tall, had a receding hairline, an expanding waistline and a Charlie Chaplin-like moustache.He cheated unsuspecting middle-aged women looking for life partners on matrimonial sites. And he managed to charm some very successful women into marrying him. Among this wives were a doctor, a chartered accountant, two lawyers, a commandant in the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and a government employee.But how did he manage to fool them all? Here is that story, as told from the FIR filed in the case. medium107298805A marriage in a hurryIn January 2018, Swain went to meet Komal in Delhi, presenting himself as a polite teetotaller. To build the charade, he took along his sister and her husband. This created the impression that Swain was a family man and reinforced his claims. Swain was in a hurry to get married and he tied the knot with Komal at a temple in Delhi. He also took a substantial amount in dowry, and soon left for Bhubaneswar, leaving Komal behind. Komal started suspecting that something was wrong. But it was only after almost a year, that she went to Bhubaneswar. But Swain would never let her stay with him for more than a few days. As her suspicions grew, Komal made a fake profile on a matrimonial site and sent him a proposal. To her horror, he accepted it. But what she did not suspect in her wildest dreams was that Swain wasn’t just considering proposals, but had already married several other women. medium107298832A man of multiple profilesLike Komal, none of the women had any clue about Swain’s other marriages. DCP Uma Shankar Dash said Swain targeted women who were in their forties and under family pressure to get married. Swain created multiple profiles on several matrimonial websites. That was how he met Shweta, a widow from Madhya Pradesh. His modus operandi didn’t change too much between weddings. The first step was to meet the woman’s family and gain their confidence. In Shweta’s case, he identified himself as a deputy director general and member of the Central Board of Admission Committee in the health ministry. He claimed to be posted in Bengaluru. medium107298840The scam unravelsSwain brought a newly-wed Shweta to a beautiful house in one of the poshest localities of Bhubaneswar. But what alerted Shweta to the con was the maid, Shanti, whom Swain had upset. Shanti said when she began working for Swain she had been promised Rs 9,000 per month. She cleaned the house, took care of his school-going child and cooked for Swain, whenever he was in Bhubaneswar. But three months after she began working for him, Swain stopped paying her and Shanti realised he had no intention of paying her. That’s when she revealed to Shweta that Swain was already married. Soon, there was a WhatsApp group of the women cheated by Swain. All of them were angry, but also curious to know how much money Swain had taken from others. Only a few wanted to disclose details, perhaps due to the embarrassment of having been duped. The commandant in the paramilitary ITBP shared that Swain had taken Rs 10 lakh from her for some urgent work. Another woman said he had taken Rs 11 lakh from a gurdwara promising to get them the health ministry’s permission to open a charitable hospital. A third woman said he would often casually ask for Rs one or two lakhs to pay his staff. 18 wives, 14 cases, three propertiesOne of the women finally lodged an FIR, while another filed a police complaint. Ironically enough, Swain was arrested on February 14, Valentine’s Day.Police personnel found at least 13 credit cards with Swain and that he held three properties in Bhubaneswar’s poshest colonies. Some of them were in the name of a wife, who was a doctor at Paradip. At the time of arrest, Swain had 18 wives, three fiances and many other women he was exploring relationships with.Commissioner of Police Saumendra Priyadarshi suspected many more victims were there and said there were at least 14 cases registered against Swain across police stations in Odisha. Swain, it turned out, had a history of cheating people. In 2006, Kerala Police had arrested him for a bank fraud of Rs 1 crore. In 2010, Hyderabad Police had nabbed him for collecting Rs 2 crore from students after assuring them admissions in medical colleges.What remained a mystery was what motivated his crimes. Was it because he lost his mother soon after he was born? Or that years later, his first wife left him soon after marriage? Nothing really explained the intricate web of deceit he spun across the country. Disclaimer: This is a dramatised version of the story. All names have been changed, all conversations are imaginary.Reportage: Ashok PradhanScript: Sonalika SinhaVoices: Abhishek Sharma, Surjan Singh, Jasleen Bhalla, Pallavi Bharti, Dipti Singh, Vasundhra Bose, Avijit GhoshAudio production: Prateek Kapoor