Noida Robbers Used Gay Dating App To Find "Gullible" Targets, Say Cops

Noida police arrested five robbers on Monday for allegedly looting several people that they met through a dating application for homosexuals, officials said on Tuesday.

The accused would chat with gullible targets on the app and set up a meeting and then rob them of their valuables, including jewellery and cash, the officials said.

The five were also allegedly involved in several other cases of loot and robberies, a senior officer said.

The five accused, all natives of the neighbouring Bulandshahr district, were travelling in a stolen car when they were arrested by the officers from Phase 3 police station after an encounter in which two of them suffered bullet injuries, police said.

Those arrested have been identified as Kapil Sharma, Rahul Saini, Ajay Sharma, Rajkumar, alias Raj Sharma, and Manish.

While an FIR was registered against them in which a man claimed he was forced by the accused to withdraw money from an ATM after the gang lured him to a personal meeting over the app.

"The gang has been involved in both direct robberies as well as those done via the app. They targeted homosexuals looking for a match. There could be over a dozen such people who have been robbed or duped by them but many have not come out to file complaints," DCP (Central) Noida Harish Chander said.

"After chatting with people on the app, the accused either sought a meeting at their place of choice or the target's place or some other location. Once they personally met, they would rob the target and flee," Mr Chander said.

Their arrest on Monday led to the recovery of stolen jewellery worth Rs 30 lakh and two stolen cars, Rs 1.14 lakh in cash, 24 wrist watches, among others, police said.