JJ Marg police on Sunday apprehended the mastermind of a gang that was instrumental in targeting victims on a gay dating app and duping them. The fraud came to light after the gang had targeted a senior doctor.
The arrested accused had met the doctor on the app, he then called the doctor to meet at a secluded place and then he along with his aides, assaulted the doctor, and stole his personal. The victim managed to escape and later lodge a complaint with the police.
The arrested person has been identified as Natiq Naushad Shaikh (21), a Mumbra resident.
According to the police, on April 28, the victim, who works in a reputed hospital and stays in Parel had met Shaikh on the dating app and then they decided to meet near the Khada Parsi area near Nagpada.
Shaikh then took the victim to a place where already three of his aides were waiting. The accused then pounced on the victim and took his phone and wallet. The victim managed to escape and approached the police.
"We got lucky when we managed to get CCTV footage of the suspects of the place from where they had escaped. Also, the doctor had provided us with the number from which he had communicated with Shaikh. We then found out that the suspects are from Mumbra. The accused got a whiff that the police were on the lookout for him and went into hiding and had switched off his mobile phone," said a police officer.
"We had received specific information that on Saturday night that Shaikh would be arriving near Sandhurst Road station. The accused targeted victims on the dating app assuming that the victims would not approach the police. Efforts are on to recover the stolen property from the accused and we are interrogating the accused to get more information about his aides and their modus-operandi. The accused has been remanded to police custody till May 17 by the court," the police officer added.
