Kerala Police have busted an extortion gang that targeted gay men via the Grindr, a free dating app for LGBTQ community members. The accused made connections with the victims via the app and later extorted them. The incident came to light after one of the victims, who lost money as well as a gold chain and ring, approached the police.
One of the members of the gang had connected with the victim —who hails from Thenkasi, Tamil Nadu, and resides in Venjarammodu, Kerala —via the dating app. He arranged to meet the victim at a nearby Mookkannur junction on August 7. While one of the gang members and the victim were in a car, the rest of the gang members approached them posing as random strangers. They clicked his pictures, looted his gold and money before abandoning him 40 km away from the original spot.
The police said the complainant approached the police, believing it was a highway robbery, and was reluctant to reveal the context in which the extortion happened. “But as we started the investigation, the details started coming out, including that of more victims,” Venjarammoodu SHO Inspector Azad Abdul Kalam told THE WEEK.
Kalam added that the gang communicated with the victims exclusively through the app. “The app allowed communication without using phone numbers; it also enabled making calls, sharing locations, and sending photos. The extortion gang believed this would make it harder for the police to track them,” he said, adding that the accused had also factory-reset the victim’s phone to prevent tracing.
The accused also planned to collect more money from the victim and had saved the details on his phone before performing a factory reset. However, the police were able to retrieve the data and identify the suspects through the victim’s Google backup.
As the police found details about the suspect, they also identified that there were more than a dozen victims who had already been extorted by the same gang. “But none of them filed complaints. When we contacted them, they said they didn’t want to complain, even though they were threatened and made to pay money to these frauds,” said the inspector. “Most of them did not complain because of the nature of the case, and also because of their social status. There are people, including those from a higher social class.”
Police had observed transactions, including UPI transfers, from victims to the gang members. However, no complaints had been registered by the other victims.
The police have so far arrested four gang members: Chithara Kollayil Panikkavila Veetil Sudheer (24), Madathara resident Muhammad Salman (19), Poredam resident Ashik, and Chithara Kollayil Puthanveetil Sajith (18). According to the police, when they arrested one suspect, the others fled. “However, we tracked them using location and IP details, chased them overnight, and finally nabbed three more near Alappuzha with the help of the highway police,” said Inspector Kalam.
Apart from Inspector Kalam, Sub-Inspector Shan, Sub-Inspector Sajith, and CPO Najeemsha were directly involved in the operation to nab the culprits.
