Dating app turns trap: 34-year-old man abducted; Rs 7L extorted from him

A desire for a date turned into a nightmare for a 34-year-old man in Delhi when he was trapped by a gang of five, who allegedly abducted him and forced him to pay Rs 7 lakh in extortion. The accused, including a woman and four men, were later arrested by the city police.

The incident happened on Tuesday (March 24) evening after the woman member, identified as Harleen Kaur alias Jenny, aged 20, allegedly lured the victim, whom she had befriended through a dating app, to Nehru Place in South Delhi, on the pretext of seeing each other.

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However, as soon as the man reached there, the woman's male associates allegedly kidnapped him. The four were identified as Nabjot (30), a gym and martial arts trainer; Sanjay alias Joey (28), a veterinary student; Rishabh (25), a cab driver; and Sahil Chauhan, according to the police.

A case was registered at the capital's Kalkaji Police Station under sections 309 (robbery) and 140 (kidnapping) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Victim beaten, forced to pay money

In his complaint, the victim said that around 7 pm on Tuesday, two cars pulled up near him and three men dragged him into one of them. He was allegedly beaten and strangled until he lost consciousness. When he woke up, the accused allegedly forced him to transfer about Rs 7 lakh through UPI payments, ATM withdrawals, and credit card transactions.

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The police said the gang drove the victim around south Delhi and Gurugram throughout the night before abandoning him back at Nehru Place around 9.30 am on Wednesday morning.

Leads from the digital transactions helped the investigators trace a mobile number linked to the suspects, leading to their arrest, the police said.

Gang trapped people in the past

During questioning, the police also learnt that the gang has been into dating fraud for a while. Jenny used apps to lure people to different locations, where she and her associates would rob them.

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It was learnt that no previous case was found registered against the gang, but initial probe revealed that the accused had targeted and robbed at least two other persons, including a doctor, using a similar method.