Men posed as girls to fish for targets in dating scam, restaurant manager held

Mumbai: The manager of a popular restaurant located at Borivli has been arrested for duping customers by conniving with a bunch of conmen and women as part of a dating scam. In all, 22 persons have been arrested.The dating scam came to light after one of the complainants, a manager with a private bank, lodged a complaint at MHB Colony police station. He told the police that he had matched with a woman over a dating app and then met her at a restaurant in Borivli. However after ordering some drinks and hookah, the restaurant presented him with a bill of Rs 35,000 and threatened him to pay up. The man dialled the police helpline (100) and called the cops. The restaurant then reduced the bill to Rs 30,000 and the woman offered to pay half of it. Later the complainant realised that Rs 15,000 he had paid went to a private UPI ID, not the restaurant's ID.After an FIR was registered, police tracked down the woman to a hotel in Navi Mumbai. They found out that she was part of a gang of 21 people (15 men and six women) who had come to Navi Mumbai from Ghaziabad and Delhi eight to 10 days ago. They had booked five rooms in the hotel. A scrutiny of their phones revealed that all the male accused had downloaded dating apps. They had created fake profiles of women and were chatting up with potential targets.Once the target agreed to meet at a restaurant, the female accused took over. The male accused connived with the restaurant staff to generate inflated bills through a portable printer that they carried along with them. The male accused posed as bouncers to intimidate the man on the date into paying up. Half of the money earned was given to the restaurant staff. The police have seized 27 cellphones, a portable printer and a POS machine collectively worth Rs 3.7 lakh.The accused are in their mid-twenties. "We suspect their involvement in a similar dating scam at Malad. The gang leaders, Mohsin and Farhan, have also been held. It is likely that several victims have been duped in this manner but few venture to lodge complaints," said a police officer. The case was supervised by deputy commissioner Anand Bhoite and senior inspector Ganesh Pawar. It was solved by inspector Atul Avhad and sub-inspector Nilesh Patil. Mumbai: The manager of a popular restaurant located at Borivli has been arrested for duping customers by conniving with a bunch of conmen and women as part of a dating scam. In all, 22 persons have been arrested.The dating scam came to light after one of the complainants, a manager with a private bank, lodged a complaint at MHB Colony police station. He told the police that he had matched with a woman over a dating app and then met her at a restaurant in Borivli. However after ordering some drinks and hookah, the restaurant presented him with a bill of Rs 35,000 and threatened him to pay up. The man dialled the police helpline (100) and called the cops. The restaurant then reduced the bill to Rs 30,000 and the woman offered to pay half of it. Later the complainant realised that Rs 15,000 he had paid went to a private UPI ID, not the restaurant's ID.After an FIR was registered, police tracked down the woman to a hotel in Navi Mumbai. They found out that she was part of a gang of 21 people (15 men and six women) who had come to Navi Mumbai from Ghaziabad and Delhi eight to 10 days ago. They had booked five rooms in the hotel. A scrutiny of their phones revealed that all the male accused had downloaded dating apps. They had created fake profiles of women and were chatting up with potential targets.Once the target agreed to meet at a restaurant, the female accused took over. The male accused connived with the restaurant staff to generate inflated bills through a portable printer that they carried along with them. The male accused posed as bouncers to intimidate the man on the date into paying up. Half of the money earned was given to the restaurant staff. The police have seized 27 cellphones, a portable printer and a POS machine collectively worth Rs 3.7 lakh.The accused are in their mid-twenties. "We suspect their involvement in a similar dating scam at Malad. The gang leaders, Mohsin and Farhan, have also been held. It is likely that several victims have been duped in this manner but few venture to lodge complaints," said a police officer. The case was supervised by deputy commissioner Anand Bhoite and senior inspector Ganesh Pawar. It was solved by inspector Atul Avhad and sub-inspector Nilesh Patil.