Blackmailing Through Fake Dating App Profile: Police Arrest Men For Extorting Money
Two men, Shyam Singh (21) and Mangal Singh (31), have been caught running an extortion racket luring men on dating apps, recording their video calls and hence blackmailing them. Delhi police busted the gang for extorting Rs 35,000 from a man by threatening to circulate an obscene screen recording of a call.
The accused duo were arrested after the victim, a 28-year-old Shahdara resident, filed a complaint on the NCRP portal on June 12 alleging blackmail by a woman he met on a dating app. The man alleged that he came in touch with a woman named Nandini on the app. Both then exchanged phone numbers and soon started chatting on WhatsApp.
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Soon, the woman initiated an explicit video call with the complainant. During the call, his face was visible on the screen and the accused recorded the session using a screen recorder. After the call, the woman threatened to release the footage on social media unless she paid money to delete the obscene video call.
Out of panic, fearing public embarrassment, the man transferred Rs 35,000 to a bank account shared by the woman. However, the demand did not stop as the accused asked for more money not to release the video. The victim then approached the cyber police station in Shahdara, explained Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Deependra Kumar Singh.
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A case under relevant sections of the BNS was registered on Thursday based on the statement of the victim and the police and the police launched an investigation.
During the investigation, police traced the bank account where the extorted amount was transferred, thus tracking the gang behind the extortion. The account to which the money was transferred was opened online under the name of Mangal Singh but operated by Shyam Singh.
Police arrested 31-year-old Mangal Singh from Alipur in Delhi on Saturday and zeroed in on others based on information provided by him. Later, the probe team tracked and arrested Shyam Singh from his home in Rajasthan’s Sikri. According to police, a majority of the extorted funds went to Mangal, followed by another associate known as Sonu, who is still on the run. “Another associate, Shyam, provided email IDs, SIM cards and bank account details to help the gang,” Hindustan Times quoted police.
Officials have seized four phones and identified fake profiles on dating apps, and it is to be ascertained if women were involved in trapping the victims or if the gang used online videos.
Shyam confessed that he opened multiple bank accounts either in his name or by using others’ credentials, offering them money in return. “In this case, Mangal Singh was paid Rs 10,000 to Rs 6,000 online by Harjeet Singh, alias Sonu, and Rs 4,000 in cash by Shyam to let his documents be used to open the account,” The New Indian Express quoted Additional Deputy Commissioner.
Shyam allegedly handed over an ATM card and an associated SIM card to another accomplice named Aamir, who was absconding.
However, the investigation disclosed that Shyam was the mastermind, and he had previously lured others too into opening accounts through online KYC processes. According to the officials, Shyam specifically targeted a private bank for account creation, which was then used in various cybercrimes.
