Man ambushed, assaulted, and extorted via dating app

Chandra Prabhu | NT

Bengaluru: Despite alerts and awareness campaigns on cyber frauds, people desperate to find online friends are getting trapped into scams which often leads them to lose their savings and at times even risk their lives.

In the latest incident that took place in the city, a 34-year-old migrant from Odisha was assaulted and robbed by a gang who befriended him through an online dating application.

The victim was seeking gay partners on 'Grinder' when he found his match in a person named Sanjay Selvaraj on the app.

Soon the duo exchanged their contact numbers and began chatting. Later the person allegedly invited the victim to his residence in Adugodi where he and his accomplices ambushed and brutally assaulted the victim.

The gang later extorted Rs 20,000 via UPI and Rs withdrew Rs 32,000 through his debit card.

The accused also robbed two gold rings worth Rs 75,000 from the victim before finally setting him free. The victim alleged that the accused had threatened to murder him if he revealed the matter to the police.

“I couldn’t walk or take proper rest,” the victim told News Trail.

A few days after the incident, the victim filed a complaint with the jurisdictional police station.

A similar incident was reported in November 2023 in the jurisdiction of the Adugodi Police station, where a 29-year-old man was extorted of valuables and money by five unidentified men who barged into the victim’s house here.

Several victims across the state have filed similar complaints to the cyber police regarding the misuse of the dating applications by fraudsters.