Police arrested three men on Monday for allegedly robbing victims through a dating app, officials said.
Police identified the suspects as Shivam Jha, 20, Sagar Thakur, 18, and Kamal (single name), 26. Police said Jha is the alleged mastermind and has multiple criminal cases registered against him.
According to police, the trio befriended victims through the app, fixed a meeting place, and then threatened them to extort money, often forcing them to carry out online transactions.
According to the FIR registered on March 29, the complainant was contacted through a dating app on March 26 and asked to meet near Sector 76 Metro station. “Three unknown people met me, introduced themselves, and took me to a nearby park. After that, they threatened me and asked to transfer money,” the complainant said.
“The suspects have been living in the Hoshiarpur area for some time. For the past six months, they were carrying out the fraud using dating apps,” said additional deputy commissioner of police Manisha Singh.
During the arrests, police recovered ₹30,000 in cash, four mobile phones, a Baleno car without a number plate, a yellow metal chain, and two number plates, officials said.
The case has been registered under sections 318(4) (cheating), 3(5) (common intention), and 317(2) (possession of stolen property) of the BNS, along with Section 66D of the IT Act, police said.