Gurugram Police arrests four members of a gang for duping people on LGBTQ dating app

The Gurugram Police arrested four members of a gang from Sector 40 on Sunday night for allegedly duping at least 300 people via a mobile dating app for the LGBTQ

The Gurugram Police arrested four members of a gang from Sector 40 on Sunday night for allegedly duping at least 300 people via a mobile dating app for the LGBTQ community by taking inappropriate photos and blackmailing them to pay huge sums of money.

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The police said they had arrested the mastermind earlier this month and were tracking movements of four others, who were based in Delhi. The four members were on way to meet another victim on MG Road on Sunday, when they were nabbed, said senior officers and investigators associated with the case.

The suspects were identified as Sunder Kumar alias Sagar, Pushp Kumar alias Piyush, Vinod Messy alias Kake and Rahul Kumar alias Pehalwan staying in different parts of Delhi. The police recovered mobile phones and cash from their possession. The alleged mastermind in this case, Jaswinder Singh, aged 23, a resident of Faridabad was arrested earlier.

The police said Rahul is a gym trainer and an aspiring model, Vinod is a cab driver, and Sunder and Pushp are mechanics, who also deal in car accessories near Nizamuddin. They also worked as part-time cab drivers.

Earlier, in February, HT reported that the city police had busted another similar racket. At least 50 senior executives — including CEOs — of companies based in the National Capital Region (NCR) were among the 150 people who fell victim to the members of that gang over the past three months. In a similar modus operandi, the gang members befriended victims on a popular LGBTQ dating app and blackmailed them with intimate pictures.

The latest gang was busted after a preliminary inquiry was made into a snatching complaint by a 24-year-old executive, who did not reveal the exact manner in which he was duped out of fear of stigma. When the police investigated the matter, it was found out that the executive was cheated by the gang members, who befriended him on the dating app in June this year.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said that the victim cooked up a story and tried to mislead police, following which investigation was carried out. “We arrested one of the suspects from Faridabad, who spilled the beans and revealed that he is a part of a five-member gang, which had duped several people in Delhi-NCR over the past year for lakhs after befriending them on the dating app,” he said.

The probe revealed that the gang had made their profiles on the dating app and used to move around in their cars. They used to go together to meet the victims and offered them sexual services. “They used to charge anywhere between ₹10,000 and ₹15,000 from the victims and one of them used to record the act. Later they used to blackmail the victim and extort money,” said Sangwan.

They used to fix up a meeting after getting friendly with the victims and once they gained their confidence and victim assured them that their identities will be kept safe, they used to meet them at a place agreed upon mutually.

“In the recent case, the executive called one of the gang members to Sohna Road in a commercial complex and finalised a deal for ₹11,000. Later, when the victim met the other gang members, he changed his mind and asked for services from another gang member who asked him to pay ₹15,000. The victim took him to a men’s washroom in the complex. Later when the suspect demanded the money, victim tried to negotiate, which led to a tiff. The gang members snatched his mobile phone and forced him to withdraw nearly ₹35,000 from an ATM kiosk,” said Sangwan.

The police said the gang members used their original pictures on the dating sites and mentioned their original mobile numbers, which helped police to identify and nab them.

The police said the gang used commercial complexes in the city during the lockdown to meet victims. Sometimes, they also met in one of their cars or used the empty office spaces, taking advantage of the lockdown.

Police commissioner KK Rao said that they have arrested all the members involved in the case and have written to the dating app company to ensure that all app users are verified before their profiles are uploaded. “We have received only one complaint recently as people usually do not reveal such incidents out of fear of stigma. I want to appeal to residents to approach us if such incidents occur. We will keep their names and credentials secret and strict action will be taken against the suspects. Also, people should be careful while using these online dating applications,” he said.