Four member gang abducts and robs youth lured via dating app in Thiruvananthapuram; held

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Four men have been arrested in Venjaramoodu for abducting and robbing a youth after luring him through Grindr, a dating app for the LGBTQ+ community. The arrested individuals are Sudheer, 24, Muhammed Salman, 19, Ashiq, 19, and Sajith, 18 all from Chithara. The incident took place on August 7 on the Venjarammoodu-Attingal road. The gang allegedly targeted the Venjaramoodu native by arranging a meeting at Mukkunnoor Junction. The victim met the first two accused in a car, while the other two arrived suddenly. They took him away in the car, snatched his gold chain weighing two sovereigns and a half-sovereign ring, and assaulted him until he lost consciousness before abandoning him at Sumathi Valavu near Palode. According to the police, the gang has duped several people following the same modus operandi. The accused persons would identify people on the app within a 10-km range and invite them to meet at isolated locations. The first two accused would meet the victim and engage in sexual acts inside the car, while the other two, pretending to be strangers, would arrive later, and drive the car off at high speed before carrying out the robbery, said a police officer. The accused avoided sharing phone numbers and communicated only through the app, making identification difficult. They also erased evidence by factory-resetting the victims phone. The police said the gang admitted to abducting several people similarly, but most of the victims failed to complain due to fear of humiliation. The accused also forced some to transfer money through Google Pay and threatened to leak photos of them in compromising situations if they refused. In this case, the police zeroed in on the accused within 24 hours after recovering the deleted data from the victims phone using cyber forensics. The police have also seized the Alto car used for the crime. Three of the accused persons were intercepted by the Highway Police at Punnapra, Alappuzha, while they were fleeing to Ernakulam on two bikes. The fourth accused was caught at Kulathupuzha on Friday night. Meanwhile, Sudheer pawned the stolen ornaments at a financial institution in Kollam for Rs 1.25 lakh, said the police. The gang had made several lakhs in recent months and kept the money in Sudheers account. Sudheer also owns several cars that he rents out. Further probe will be done in custody interrogation, said the Venjaramoodu police. Communication only through the app The accused avoided sharing phone numbers and communicated only through the app, making identification difficult. They also erased evidence by factory-resetting the victims phone