UP Dating Fraud: The Uttar Pradesh Police unearthed a racket that lured people to rob and threaten them using dating apps. On Thursday, police arrested eight people, including five women, a manager, and two café owners, in connection with the alleged scam.
The arrests came after a raid at Tiger Café near Kaushambi Metro Station in Ghaziabad. As per the officials, the key suspects in the case were identified as Khalid alias Imran from Shaheednagar and his associates Sumit and Nadeem from Delhi.
In a post on X, the Ghaziabad Police Commissionerate informed about the matter. “Kaushambi Police Station team arrested 03 accused and 05 female accused who were wanted for calling men through a dating app to a cafe in the name of meeting girls and charging a higher price on food items and then holding them hostage and demanding money when the bill was not paid,” police said.
थाना कौशाम्बी पुलिस टीम द्वारा डेटिंग एप के माध्यम से लड़कियों से मिलने के नाम पर कैफे में बुलाकर खाने के सामान पर मूल्य से अधिक बिल लगाने व बिल न देने पर बन्धक बनाकर पैसे मांगने में वाँछित 03 अभियुक्त व 05 अभियुक्ता गिरफ्तार ।@Uppolice pic.twitter.com/wD5I3zMAA3
— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE GHAZIABAD (@ghaziabadpolice) October 24, 2024
According to the police, the accused used to invite people to the cafe through dating apps to’meet girls’ and charge them exorbitant amounts for the cost of food. When the victim refused to pay the bill amount, they would take him hostage and seek payment. After receiving a complaint in the matter, the police sprung into action and arrested eight persons, including five girls.
The case came to light on Tuesday when a man identified as Vikas Gupta filed a complaint alleging that he was chatting with a girl online for a few days and that on 21st October, they met at Kaushambi metro station and walked down to Tiger Café.
In the FIR filed by the victim, he revealed that when the duo arrived at the café, it was empty and his date (one of the arrested girls) ordered a soft drink, as per media reports. However, as the two were leaving the café, they received a bill of around Rs 16,000 just for a cold drink.
After receiving the bill, the victim felt that something was wrong. He sent his live location to a friend seeking help. He claimed that after he refused to pay the bill, he was held hostage by the staff of the café, and they now demanded Rs 50,000.
Meanwhile, the friend of the victim reached out to the cops and informed them about the matter at around 7 pm. After receiving the action, the police rescued the victim by 8 PM. According to media reports, the victim stated that by the time police rescued him, the accused had extracted Rs 4,500 from his pocket and forced him to pay Rs 2,000 through online payment.
Following the victim’s complaint, Kaushambi police registered an FIR on 23rd October and arrested three youths: Khalid alias Imran, a resident of Sahibabad; Nadeem, a resident of Shastri Park, Delhi; and Sumit, a resident of Kalyanpuri, Delhi, as well as five girls: Sanjana Gujjar, Nisha Rana, and Deepanshika, all of whom are from Delhi; and Aksha, a resident of Ghaziabad. Initially, the accused managed to escape and were later caught by the police.
Meanwhile, Nimish Patil, DCP Trans-Hindon, stated that the FIR was filed at Kaushambi police station against all the accused under BNS sections 127 (2) (wrongful confinement) and 308 (2) (extortion). According to the officer, another probe has been initiated into police negligence to find out the reason why the police didn’t take action when the victim’s friend dialed 112 seeking help, media reports stated.
