Conned by Tinder date, man forced to pay Rs 1.2 lakh at Delhi cafe
Once she left, the man was shocked when he was presented with a bill of Rs 1.21 lakh for the food that should not have cost more than a few thousand
Search for a date in Delhi landed a civil services aspirant in soup as he ended up losing Rs 1.2 lakh.
It all started when he matched with a woman named Varsha on Tinder, a dating app, and decided to meet her. He also made arrangements to celebrate her birthday at the Black Mirror Café on Vikas Marg on June 23.
On reaching the café, the couple ordered some snacks and a couple of cakes. Varsha also consumed four shots of fruit wine. The date was proceeding as planned until Varsha told him that she will have to rush on account of a family emergency.
Once she left, the man was shocked when he was presented with a bill of Rs 1.21 lakh for the food that should not have cost more than a few thousand. When he confronted the café staff over the exorbitant bill, he was threatened and forced to shell out the amount. He transferred the amount online to Akshay Pahwa, one of the café owners.
Modus operandi
After venturing out of the café, the victim rushed to the nearest police station and lodged a complaint. The police immediately arrested Akshay who disclosed that the café is owned by him, his cousin Vansh Pahwa and their friend, Ansh Grover. The cafe also employs several “table managers”.
He revealed the real identity of Varsha as 25-year-old Afsan Parveen, also known as Aaysha or Noor. Subsequently, the police also zeroed in on Afsan and arrested her at another café, where she was on a ‘date’ with a Mumbai boy whom she contacted through a matrimonial site.
Following their interrogation, the police found that the exorbitant bills charged by the accused were divided by the cafe in a fixed ratio: 15 per cent to the girl, 45 per cent between the table and café managers, and the remaining 40 per cent to the owners. Further investigation into the matter is underway and efforts are on to arrest other co-accused.
Several such rackets operate in major metro cities like Delhi, NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad, aiming to extort money. The modus operandi involves collusion between café owners, managers, and individuals who trap targets through dating apps.