7 Held In 'Dating Scam' That Duped 50-60 People Of Rs 30 Lakh

Seven persons were apprehended from Maharashtra in connection with a "dating scam" in which 50-60 people were duped of lakhs of rupees by some young women who were working with pub owners and other persons who organised the racket.

Police on Wednesday said that women lured men to a pub here and allegedly made them pay hefty bills after ordering expensive liquor and food, and that the bill amount was shared by the pub owners and the group.

The accused, who were apprehended at Nagpur, recruited women and allegedly attracted the customers through online dating apps and called their victims to the pub in Madhapur here, they said.

One member of the gang used to chat with the customers posing as a woman on the dating apps, and called the customers to the pub where they, along with other women, made the victims order expensive food and beverages, police said.

After the women allegedly forced the customers to drink the expensive liquor in the pub, the accused duped them by charging a huge amount of money in the form of bills, police said, adding that the bill amount was then shared among the accused, the pub owner, the organisers and the women.

The accused who have a night club at Delhi had repeated this modus operandi in Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Madhapur Zone) Vineeth G said.

They used to select pubs that were running in losses and having very poor ratings online.

With regard to the pub in Hyderabad, the accused operated for 45 days, especially on weekends and they duped 50-60 customers to the tune of Rs 30 lakh and shared the bill amount among themselves, the pub owner and the women, police said.

Police had last week registered a case over the "dating scam". Further investigations are on. 

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