<p>Noida: The Noida police on Thursday arrested four members of a gang who allegedly used a dating app for the LGBTQ community to extort money from people after establishing physical relations with them, officials said.</p>.<p>All the accused are aged between 19 and 22 years, they said.</p>.<p>The accused allegedly lured victims into having physical relations and then blackmailed them, police said.</p>.Punjab Police unearths MSP fraud, nabs 4.<p>According to the officials, a person lodged a case at Phase 3 police station on Wednesday, accusing the suspects of extorting money from him.</p>.<p>Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Noida) Shakti Mohan Avasthy said acting on the complaint, police nabbed the four accused on Thursday from a park in Sector 65.</p>.<p>Talking to reporters, he detailed how the gang created fake accounts on the app, initiated conversations with victims, and established relationships with them.</p>.<p>During these interactions, the gang secretly recorded videos and gathered evidence such as photos, chats, and footage to use for extortion, he said.</p>.<p>"We registered a case based on a complaint by one of the victims, which led to the arrest of four individuals today. These individuals operated as a group, extorting victims for cash, online payments, or gold and silver jewellery," Avasthy said.</p>.<p>The DCP said that fear of social stigma often prevents victims from coming forward in such cases.</p>.<p>"During interrogation, the gang members revealed they had targeted more than half a dozen people in a similar manner. Police are making efforts to identify and contact other victims to gather more evidence," he added.</p>.<p>The gang confessed to having been involved in this criminal activity for the past three-four months. All four accused have completed their schooling up to class 12, Avasthy said.</p>.<p>Those held have been identified as Shani (20), Karan Kumar (22), Rajat (22) and Tushar (19), police said.</p>.<p>During interrogation, the accused revealed they created fake profiles on the 'Grindr' app to lure potential victims, they said.</p>.<p>Once the victim was lured, the accused blackmailed them by threatening to reveal their sexual orientation to family and friends. In one instance, they lured the complainant to a location, intimidated him and transferred Rs 14,300 from his account via GPay, police said.</p>.<p>The accused further coerced the complainant's brother into transferring Rs 10,000 to one of the accused's accounts. Additionally, they stole the complainant's Aadhaar card, PAN card, and vehicle registration certificate, police added. </p>
<p>Noida: The Noida police on Thursday arrested four members of a gang who allegedly used a dating app for the LGBTQ community to extort money from people after establishing physical relations with them, officials said.</p>.<p>All the accused are aged between 19 and 22 years, they said.</p>.<p>The accused allegedly lured victims into having physical relations and then blackmailed them, police said.</p>.Punjab Police unearths MSP fraud, nabs 4.<p>According to the officials, a person lodged a case at Phase 3 police station on Wednesday, accusing the suspects of extorting money from him.</p>.<p>Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Noida) Shakti Mohan Avasthy said acting on the complaint, police nabbed the four accused on Thursday from a park in Sector 65.</p>.<p>Talking to reporters, he detailed how the gang created fake accounts on the app, initiated conversations with victims, and established relationships with them.</p>.<p>During these interactions, the gang secretly recorded videos and gathered evidence such as photos, chats, and footage to use for extortion, he said.</p>.<p>"We registered a case based on a complaint by one of the victims, which led to the arrest of four individuals today. These individuals operated as a group, extorting victims for cash, online payments, or gold and silver jewellery," Avasthy said.</p>.<p>The DCP said that fear of social stigma often prevents victims from coming forward in such cases.</p>.<p>"During interrogation, the gang members revealed they had targeted more than half a dozen people in a similar manner. Police are making efforts to identify and contact other victims to gather more evidence," he added.</p>.<p>The gang confessed to having been involved in this criminal activity for the past three-four months. All four accused have completed their schooling up to class 12, Avasthy said.</p>.<p>Those held have been identified as Shani (20), Karan Kumar (22), Rajat (22) and Tushar (19), police said.</p>.<p>During interrogation, the accused revealed they created fake profiles on the 'Grindr' app to lure potential victims, they said.</p>.<p>Once the victim was lured, the accused blackmailed them by threatening to reveal their sexual orientation to family and friends. In one instance, they lured the complainant to a location, intimidated him and transferred Rs 14,300 from his account via GPay, police said.</p>.<p>The accused further coerced the complainant's brother into transferring Rs 10,000 to one of the accused's accounts. Additionally, they stole the complainant's Aadhaar card, PAN card, and vehicle registration certificate, police added. </p>