Date turns into nightmare as man stripped, robbed of ₹50,000 in Mumbai

Police suspect the victim's date was part of a gang that allegedly lured men through dating apps, assaulted them and extorted money by threatening to expose.

A 31-year-old project coordinator with a private firm was stripped, assaulted, threatened and robbed of ₹50,000 by a group of unidentified men in Deonar on July 30, while he was meeting another man he had befriended on a dating app, police officers familiar with the case told Hindustan Times. Investigators suspect the project coordinator’s date was also party to the crime.

A man was allegedly stripped, assaulted and robbed of ₹50,000 after being lured to a meeting through a dating app in Mumbai's Deonar, police said. (PTI/representational image)

According to the Deonar police, the project coordinator, also the complainant in the case, is a resident of Shivaji Nagar and his office is located in the Bandra Kurla Complex. On July 30, he matched with another man on a dating application, exchanged contact numbers and chatted for a while before deciding to meet at an isolated spot in Deonar.

Victim allegedly threatened with knife

“While the meeting was underway, a few unidentified men approached them, threatened the complainant with a knife and asked him to remove his clothes,” said a police officer. “Once he was naked, the accused assaulted him, shot his photos and videos, and threatened to implicate him in a drug peddling case if he did not pay up.”

Based on the project coordinator’s complaint, the unidentified accused have been booked under sections 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), 127 (wrongful confinement), 309 (robbery), 311 (robbery or dacoity committed with an attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) and 351 (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 along with relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.

Police suspect dating app trap

“We have prima facie found that the complainant’s date was also involved in the crime. He and the other accused would befriend men on dating apps and call them for dates, only to threaten, assault and rob them. They hoped the victims would not complain to the police for fear of being tagged gay,” the officer said.

Earlier, HT reported about a similar case from Pune where a 26-year-old banker from Manipur was allegedly abducted, assaulted and robbed of cash and gold jewellery worth nearly ₹2 lakh on August 1 after being lured into a meeting through a dating application.