Extortion rackets via dating apps busted in Agra; 8 held

Agra: Eight people belonging to two separate gangs have been arrested for allegedly using dating apps to lure men, hold them hostage, assault them and extort money by threatening to leak obscene videos, Agra Police said on Saturday.In a case registered at Ekta police station, a 25-year-old software engineer from Agra, currently working in Hyderabad, told police that he had befriended a man on Grindr. On Thursday, he was allegedly taken in a car to an isolated spot near Ring Road where he was assaulted, stripped and filmed in objectionable circumstances. The accused then threatened to circulate the videos online and demanded Rs 2 lakh, forcing him to pay Rs 1.04 lakh online, police said, adding that the gang allegedly contacted him again the next day, demanding another Rs 50,000.An FIR was registered under section 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), 309(6) (robbery),115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt),127(2) (wrongful confinement), and 351(3) (criminal intimidation) of BNS. Four accused — Suraj Thakur, Saurabh Yadav, Naman Yadav and Abhishek Yadav — were arrested and a car, two motorcycles, a mobile phone and cash was recovered from them. Police said the accused confessed to the crime.In another case registered at Tajganj police station, a 30-year-old man alleged he was contacted via the Polo app and called to a hotel, where four men waiting allegedly held him captive, assaulted him and threatened to kill him unless he transferred money. Police said Rs 14,000 was transferred through a QR code before the victim was released.Police said another man was similarly targeted through Grindr the next morning and was allegedly forced to pay Rs 4,900 by the same group. Four accused — Someshwar Singh, Tarun Kumar, Saqib and Shakeel — were arrested, and five mobile phones along with a car were seized.ADCP Agra (Crime) Himanshu Gaurav said, “We are taking such organised cyber-enabled extortion cases very seriously. The accused allegedly misused social networking and dating platforms to trap victims, extort money and threaten them. We urge citizens to exercise caution while meeting strangers through online apps and immediately inform police if they face any threat, blackmail or suspicious activity. Strict legal action will be ensured against those involved in such crimes.”