Ghaziabad: Man meets woman at cafe, forced to pay ₹34,000 in food bill

Complainant Ashutosh Kumar said he connected with a woman on a matrimonial site and started chatting with her

A 26-year-old man was allegedly lured to a café in Raj Nagar District Centre by a woman whom he met on a matrimonial site and was coerced into paying a food bill of ₹34,397 at the café they visited on December 1, police said, adding that they registered an FIR under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 308(2) (extortion) at Kavi Nagar police station on December 6 based on the man’s complaint.

This the second such incident in the recent past in RDC, which is one of the biggest commercial hubs in Ghaziabad housing renowned food chains, restaurants, branded outlets, cafés and commercial activities. (Representational image)

Complainant Ashutosh Kumar said he connected with a woman on a matrimonial site and started chatting with her.

“After a few days of chatting, she shared her phone number and suggested that we meet at a café in RDC, Ghaziabad. At the cafe, we ordered food and a hookah. To my utter shock, the bill presented was ₹34,397. Upon questioning the charges, the cafe staff became aggressive and coerced me into making the payment via UPI. No proper invoice or breakdown of the charges was provided,” Kumar said in his complaint to Kavi Nagar police station.

This the second such incident in the recent past in RDC, which is one of the biggest commercial hubs in Ghaziabad housing renowned food chains, restaurants, branded outlets, cafés and commercial activities.

On November 25, a 22-year-old student from a private university in Greater Noida was allegedly lured by a woman into a café in RDC where he was confined and made to ₹38,000 for “snacks”. The police later arrested café owner Rahul Verma but failed to trace the woman.

The police suspect that this new scam mostly targets unsuspecting individuals on online dating and matrimonial platforms.

“We have registered an FIR in the recent incident and are investigating the case before making any arrest. The complainant sent us the complaint on mail. The café owner was arrested in connection with the previous similar case, but we are still investigating this matter and trying to trace the whereabouts of the woman,” said Abhishek Srivastava, assistant commissioner of police, Kavi Nagar.

The complaint on mail was also marked to chief minister’s office, superintendent of police, cyber crime, in Lucknow and commissioner of police, Ghaziabad.