Man extorted of ₹38K at Ghazibad cafe in online dating scam

Victim said that the woman suggested the cafe for their date, where he was asked to pay ₹38,035, as per the bill he received, according to the FIR

A 22-year-old student from a private university in Greater Noida was allegedly lured into a café in Ghaziabad’s Raj Nagar District Centre (RDC), where he was wrongfully confined and extorted ₹38,000 over snacks, Ghaziabad police said. The Kavi Nagar police registered an FIR and arrested the cafe owner, Rahul Verma, suspecting a scam targeting unsuspecting individuals through online dating platforms, they added.

Police said that Javed called three friends for help, who managed to gather funds and come to his rescue. (File Photo)

According to police, the incident took place on November 25 after the student, Arshlan Javed, met a woman through an online dating app. In his complaint, Javed said that the woman claimed her name was Shivi, invited him to a cafe opposite a prominent mall in RDC, located above a hotel. Police suspect that the woman is around 24 years old.

The incident happened when the student met a woman on April 24 through an online dating app. In his complaint, Javed said that the woman called her to a cafe in RDC, Ghaziabad, on November 25, and he went with her to a cafe to which she had proposed. The name of the cafe has not been disclosed by the police and is also absent from the FIR, officers said.

“The woman introduced herself as Shivi, and she took me to the cafe above a hotel in RDC. There, we ordered some snacks, and I was given a bill of ₹38,035. This shocked me, and I told the staff that the bill was not proper, and I did not have enough money to pay the bill. Then, they threatened me and hurled verbal abuses before locking me up in a room,” Javed said in his FIR, lodged at Kavi Nagar police station on Tuesday.

“We filed an FIR on Tuesday and arrested the cafe’s owner. Preliminary investigations suggest Verma and the woman were part of a dating scam to lure individuals and extort money. Efforts are underway to trace the woman,” said Abhishek Srivastava, ACP, Kavi Nagar police station.

Police said that Javed called three friends for help, who managed to gather funds and come to his rescue. The friends reportedly paid two installments of ₹4,500 and ₹2,500 to secure Javed’s release. One of Javed’s friends also dialled the police emergency number to report the incident.

Based on the complaint, police filed an FIR under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections for wrongful confinement (127(2)), extortion (308(2)), intentional insult (352), threatening with harm (351(2)), and criminal conspiracy (61(2)). The FIR named Shivi, whose whereabouts remain unknown, and Rahul Verma, the cafe owner.