Four held for gay sextortion in Varachha

Surat: Varachha police arrested four persons for allegedly extorting money using a "gay app trapping" modus operandi. The accused would lure the victim by proposing a relationship and then assault and threaten him to extract money. Police said the accused have five older cases registered against them.According to police, the complainant, an embroidery artisan working in a Varachha unit, was using a gay dating app to seek a relationship. He encountered one of the accused, and the two agreed to meet. The victim was called near New Bombay Market at 2pm. After he reached the spot, the person he had contacted through the app approached him and took him to nearby Kamal Park Society. Once there, three other men joined them and threatened the victim, demanding money. When he told them he did not have cash, the accused allegedly told him to transfer money online if he wanted to stay alive. They forced him to transfer Rs 24,000 in two transactions via UPI before fleeing. The victim later filed a complaint with Varachha police. Based on the complaint, police arrested Ashwin Makwana, Prayag Makwana, Vijay Vaghela and Ashok Vala following human and technical surveillance. During the investigation, police found that Vaghela had three previous cases registered against him, while Vala and Prayag Makwana had one case each at Varachha police station.
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