AHMEDABAD: A 21-year-old man from Bopal area of the city lodged a complaint with Bodakdev police, claiming that three individuals abducted him and extorted Rs 16,000 using a UPI app. The incident occurred on Sep 8 in the Thaltej area after the complainant contacted one of the accused through a gay dating application.
The complaint also mentioned that the same three individuals had previously kidnapped another person and extorted Rs 40,000 from him in the Thaltej area.
The accused were identified as Swapnil Desai, Aaryan Desai, and Aayush Desai. According to the police, the complainant had installed a gay dating app on his mobile phone on Sep 5. The app allows users to see other active users in their vicinity.
On Sep 8, while at the Thaltej metro station, the complainant received a message and a picture from an unknown person on the dating app. After responding, the sender instructed the complainant to meet at a cafe without disclosing his name.
Upon arriving at the cafe, the complainant noticed a man in an SUV with tinted windows. The man asked the complainant to sit in the front passenger seat, where two other men were already seated. The complainant alleged that the two men assaulted him and demanded money while driving towards Shilaj. They also confiscated his mobile phone.
The accused forced the complainant into transferring money into the bank account of one of the accused. The complainant called a friend and arranged for Rs 16,000. Under duress, the complainant transferred the Rs 16,000 to one of the kidnapper’s accounts, which was registered under the name Aayush Rabari.
After reading news reports about the same three men kidnapping a 23-year-old man from Thaltej, the complainant approached the Bodakdev police.
The police charged the accused under different sections of BNS, including kidnapping, causing harm, robbery, and abetment. An investigation into the matter has been initiated.