According to Kerala police, a four-member gang extorted lakhs of rupees from hundreds of people after luring them through the dating app Grindr.
The crime came to light after an accused filed a police complaint after being extorted. The complainant came into contact with the accused after downloading the Grindr app recently. The accused and the victim decided to meet on Venjaramoodu-Attingal Road on August 7.
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What Is Grindr?
Grindr is a location-based social networking and online dating application. Headquartered in West Hollywood, California, USA, the app is for gay, bisexual, queer, and transgender people.
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Acting on the complaint, the police arrested the accused. The victim said they had extorted his gold chain and ring, worth two and a half sovereigns, and later abandoned him in a deserted place in nearby Palode.
The gang had been indulging in fraud, targeting mainly gay, homosexual, and transgender people, but it was the first time that a person came up with a formal complaint against them, said Venjaramoodu police.
How Police Cracked The Case
“We examined the mobile phone chats and Google Pay transactions of the first accused and identified several such victims. They admitted that they had lost money, but none of them were ready to lodge a complaint because of their social status,” police said.
Four Youth Arrested In The Case
“All four accused were local youth aged between 18 and 24 years. The mastermind was Sudheer, a native of Chithara here,” police said on Wednesday. The co-accused were Mohammed Salman (19), Ashiq (19) and Sajith (18), they added.
What Was Modus Operandi Of The Gang?
The gang used to work on a foolproof modus operandi. The gang member would spend time with the victim after luring him inside a car in an empty area of the meeting place. The third or fourth accused would appear as strangers, get into the car, drive away at high speed, and rob the victim.
Target Victim After Posing As Robber
Police revealed that they used to beat and threaten the victim after robbing him. Dating app partner’s associates used to pose as robbers. They used to rob gold ornaments and abandon the person in the deserted area. Even the complainant initially believed that it was a highway robbery.
“As the accused deleted the entire data in the complainant’s phone through a factory reset, there was no clue to reach them. We later retrieved the entire chat through the app with the help of the cyber forensic wing,” the police officer detailed.
The accused were suspected to have extorted lakhs of rupees from hundreds of people, but no one was ready to lodge a complaint, police said.
(With PTI inputs)