A city policeman was allegedly robbed and assaulted by a man he met on an international dating website. The accused invited the policeman for a date, and along with his accomplices, assaulted and robbed him of his mobile phone, gold chain and cash. The 29-year-old cop in his complaint only stated that he had been attacked and robbed. It was after the police arrested the accused, Javed Shaikh alias Arbaz (24), that they found out that the two had met on a gay dating website. Shaikh has allegedly targeted at least one other man using the same ploy. Watch What Else Is Making News According to the Kurla railway police station, the complainant met Shaikh, who went by the user name khanbhai2, on the website in early December 2016. The two started chatting and later exchanged phone numbers. “Shaikh, who speaks fluent English, and the complainant decided to meet on January 2 near Shreyas Cinema in Ghatkopar,” an officer said. After they met, Shaikh reportedly told the policeman that his family lived nearby and suggested the two go to a secluded spot along the railway tracks between Ghatkopar and Vikhroli. The duo found a spot along the railway lines and sat down there. “Within some time, two people approached them and began to question them about their behaviour. They threatened to ‘expose’ the complainant, who was by now scared that his family would find out about his sexuality,” an officer said. “The duo then started beating up the complainant and snatched his mobile phone, gold chain and cash, together worth Rs 30,000. They then fled the spot along with Shaikh. The complainant returned home and did not mention the incident to anyone,” the officer added. Eventually, after thinking over the matter for a few days, the complainant approached the Kurla Government Railway Police (GRP) on January 13. He told the police that he had been passing through the area when he was assaulted and robbed. The Kurla GRP registered an FIR and started probing the matter. They tracked down Shaikh, a resident of Ghatkopar, and arrested him on Sunday. On interrogating him, the police found he had approached the complainant through a dating website. “Another member of the same dating portal has come forward stating that Shaikh duped him in a similar manner. We suspect there could be more people duped this way. The accused would bank on the fact that the victims would be hesitant to register a complaint,” the officer said. Shaikh’s accomplices have been identified as Ejaz Khan and Jafar Ansari, the police said. “They should be arrested in the next 24 hours,” an officer linked to the probe said. Senior inspector of Kurla GRP Ashok Bodke said, “Our teams are out currently. We expect to arrest the other accused in the case soon.” The men have been booked on charges of robbery, assault, and under sections of the Information Technology Act.
