In a bizarre incident, the Uttar Pradesh Police have caught a gang in Ghaziabad that used to cheat men in the name of dating. This gang was being run from a fake cafe in the Kaushambi area and the girls working here used to call boys in the name of date. After this, they used to order several expensive things to eat from the cafe.
In case if the bill was not paid, the boys were held hostage and money was forcibly taken from them. Police have arrested a total of eight people. Of these, three are men and five are girls.
Know more about the dating scam
On October 21 (Monday), a man received an invitation for a date via WhatsApp, unaware that it was a carefully orchestrated trap. The meeting point was Kaushambi metro station, where he was later taken to the Tiger Cafe, located on the first floor of Kaushambi Hotel.
Upon arriving at the cafe, the man became suspicious. He noticed the establishment lacked an online presence and had no visible signboard. Sensing something was off, he immediately shared his live location with a friend and sent a message detailing his situation.
His suspicions were confirmed when, as he attempted to leave, he was confronted with a bill amounting to Rs 16,400 for a glass of cold drink that the girl had ordered. When he protested, the staff demanded Rs 50,000, forcibly preventing him from exiting.
Fortunately, his friend, aware of the troubling circumstances, contacted the police. This prompt action led to the dismantling of a dating scam operation involving five women and three men. Investigations revealed that four of the women were from Delhi and maintained profiles on various dating apps. They would lure unsuspecting men to the Tiger Cafe, where patrons were grossly overcharged for food and drinks. Victims were then held hostage until they paid the demanded sum, a scheme aimed at extorting money.
The man was eventually freed, and an FIR was filed based on his account. Authorities arrested all eight suspects involved in the scam.
When the bill came after eating, it used to be very high. However, the boys used to pay the bill under compulsion.
A complaint was made on October 22
Police said that on October 22 (Tuesday), a person living in Delhi's Dayalpur had filed a written complaint against these people. The victim had told that he was called to the cafe in the name of date and the price of every item was quite expensive. When he refused to pay the bill, he was held hostage by them. Taking action in this case, the police have arrested eight people including the cafe owner. Kaushambi police have arrested Khalid alias Imran, Nadeem and Sumit along with five girls. Action is being taken against all the accused.
On interrogation, the arrested accused and the cafe owner said, "We used to ask the girls working in our cafe to talk to boys on dating apps. After that, the girls used to call them to their cafe to meet. After bringing the boys to the cafe, they used to give the bill by adding 5 to 6 times the price of the goods ordered by them and if they refused to pay the bill, they used to hold them hostage and demand money.
