Gang posing as cops used dating apps to extort men, four held

New Delhi: What began as a seemingly harmless date with a woman met through a dating app spiralled into a nightmare for a man, who was allegedly ambushed in a staged “raid” by men posing as cops. It was only after the real police intervened that the victim realised he had walked into a carefully orchestrated honeytrap and extortion racket.

Police arrested four people, including a property dealer, for allegedly luring men through fake female profiles and taking them to rented flats or secluded locations. The victims were then threatened with fabricated rape and other criminal cases to extort large sums of money.

According to police, a tip-off about the gang was received on Tuesday, following which a trap was laid in west Delhi’s Rajouri Garden area. When intercepted, the accused attempted to flee. One of the gang members, Sushil Kumar, 53, a property dealer, was caught red-handed wearing a police uniform.

An FIR was registered, and three of Kumar’s associates — Deepak, Vinod Pandit, 57, and Neeraj Tyagi, 44 — were arrested. Two gang members, including a woman allegedly operating the fake dating profiles, are still at large.

“One of the accused would wear a police uniform to create fear and lend authenticity to the operation,” said DCP Crime Pankaj Kumar. “The gang would then demand a ‘settlement’ to avoid false criminal and rape cases.”

In the case that exposed the racket, the victim was allegedly invited to a restaurant in Janakpuri by a woman linked to the gang. She later took him to a flat along with an associate, where men posing as police officers barged in and allegedly demanded Rs 15 lakh to avoid implicating him in a rape case.

The victim was then allegedly confined inside his own car and driven around while being pressured to arrange cash, before police intercepted the gang.

In a separate case, police arrested a 23-year-old BCom graduate for allegedly masterminding a sextortion racket. Police said they received a complaint from a Shahdara resident who claimed he was contacted over a video call, during which an obscene pre-recorded video of a woman was played. The complainant was allegedly manipulated into undressing, after which his video was recorded and Rs 1 lakh was demanded.

A case was registered, and the accused, identified as Arman, was arrested from Mewat in Rajasthan.