Four arrested for robbing men by luring them through gay dating app

A man residing in Pimpri Chinchwad lodged the first information report (FIR) in this case at the Bundgarden police station.

The complainant had come across the profile of the accused on the dating app and as he was interested, he contacted the accused for a date.

They chatted on the app for a while before the accused called him for a date at a spot near the Regional Transport Office (RTO), near Sangam Bridge, around 6 pm on March 18.When the complainant reached the spot, the accused was with his aides, and forcibly took the complainant to a secluded spot.

They allegedly assaulted the complainant, snatched his debit card and forced him to give them the PIN. The accused then withdrew Rs 9,500 from the complainant’s bank account. Police said the accused formatted the complainant’s cell phone before letting him go after the robbery.

The complainant then approached the Bundgarden police station and filed an FIR. Deputy Commissioner of Police Smarthana Patil launched a probe into the incident. Cops zeroed in on the profile on the dating app, which the accused had used to contact the victim.

From the clues obtained during the probe, policemen Pradip Shitole, Saras Salvi, Prakash Avhad, Dnyaneshwar Bade and Manoj Bhokar zeroed in on the suspects and arrested Wahid on April 1. Subsequently, cops arrested the other three accused after further investigation.

Senior police inspector Ravindra Gaikwad said they have recovered money that the accused had robbed from the victim. Police suspect that the accused have robbed more men similarly through the dating app, but the victims did not come forward to lodge any complaints, possibly due to social stigma. The accused were remanded to judicial custody and then sent to Yerwada jail on Saturday.

Police sub inspector Swapnil Lohar, the investigation officer said, victims who had been robbed in such incidents, should not hesitate and approach the police and file their complaints.