Mid-Day Impact | Dating app scam probe: Cops raid Bangur Nagar Hotel, nab 6

Suspects arrested in connection with the dating app scam being brought out of the Hotel Royal Inn in Goregaon West on September 4. Pic/Anurag Ahire

On the heels of mid-day's dating app scam exposé, the Bangur Nagar police raided the Royal Inn Hotel in Goregaon on Wednesday and arrested four male suspects and two women, including one who racked up a Rs 27,187 bill during a date with an undercover reporter. Preliminary investigations revealed that more than 25 members of the gang, who hail from Delhi and are between the ages of 20 and 25, had been staying in the establishment since July.

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This newspaper, over a nine-day investigation, brought to light how certain nightclubs were allegedly using women to lure male dating app users to certain establishments where they would order expensive alcohol. In the wake of the reportage, the Amboli police station, whose jurisdiction the racket was carried out, acted swiftly under pressure and registered an FIR. While the police had been approached before this by numerous complainants, the investigation has been unfolding at a snail's pace.

"The group that has been picked by us had been waiting to be paid. The others had fled the city as soon as the news got published," said an officer who is part of the investigation. The Bangur Nagar police have booked the accused under Sections 318 (4), 308 (3) and 61 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deal with Cheating, extortion and conspiring, along with sections of the IT Act.

Roles members played

Preliminary interrogations of the accused revealed that the racketeers played three roles. There was an IT cell, mostly comprising men, whose job was to lure potential customers through dating apps. The women were tasked with meeting the victims and taking them to the establishments of the former's choice. The staff at the eateries would coordinate with the women to inflate bills.

Suspects arrested in connection with the dating app scam being brought out of the Hotel Royal Inn in Goregaon West on September 4. Pic/Anurag Ahire

The officer added, "Each member would get a 15 to 20 per cent cut of the amount victims would be forced to pay. The women would complain that the money promised was oftentimes more than what they received." The accused will be produced before the metropolitan magistrate court on Thursday.

The crackdown

API Vivek Tambe of the Bangur Nagar police

The raid was carried out under the guidance of Anand Bhoite, DCP, Zone XI, and the supervision of Senior Police Inspector Anil Thackeray of the Bangur Nagar Link Road police station, Police Inspector Bhaskar Kadam and API Vivek Tambe, along with their team comprising API Rahul Bhadarge, PSI Rohan Patil, PSI Vinayak Rathod and PSI Suraj Amte and Police Constables Kishore Tawde, Baliram Govalkar and Manisha Mahadik.

The suspects have been identified as Swapan Saini, 21; Shahbaz Khan, 20; Ayush Chaudhry, 20; and Saral Kumar Singh, 18. DCP Bhoite said, "We will thoroughly investigate this case and ensure that all members of the gang, wherever they may be hiding, are traced and brought to justice."