Gurugram gang created gay chatting app to rob; 5 held

Five men arrested on the charge of blackmailing and robbing over 50 senior MNC officials in Gurugram by trapping them through a gay chatting app initially did it for fun, but planned to make easy money once it became popular, a senior police officer said on Friday. Interestingly, police officials trapped the gang by posing as prospective customers and posting gay chats on the app. When the gang members asked decoy customers to visit a desolate spot in Bhondsi, they were arrested. The accused were identified as Sanjay, Sachin, Nar Singh, Hazari Lal and Sumit.

Gurugram Police Crime Branch ACP Preet Pal Singh Sangwan said that once the app become popular with many bisexual and transgender persons, the gang invited their potential victims to desolate areas near Gurugram, like Southern Peripheral Road, Bhondsi and Sohna. "Once the gang members made video clips of their victims indulging in gay sex, they were humiliated and blackmailed into parting with money," Sangwan said.

"The gang robbed many gays and transgenders. As the victims did not complain to police due to fear of social stigma, police was unaware of the gang's activities. Only when a victim approached Badshahpur police station and got an FIR registered in October 2019 that we came to know of their modus operandi," the police officer added. He said that the matter was transferred to the Crime Branch, which arrested the gang members on Monday.

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