Mumbai, July 14 -- When 52-year-old F Shaikh (name changed to protect identity) matched with a certain Priya Singh on a dating app in late April, he was elated. Though married for nearly three decades, he was desperate for company as his wife was busy running the family and caring for their children, with little time or appetite for conversations and intimacy that could satisfy his desires. In early May, as Shaikh made his way to a bar in Borivli, his mind raced ahead to things he hoped to tell Singh, who appeared gorgeous from her photos on the app. She was already present at the hotel when he reached, and their meeting proceeded as he had hoped - they ordered some food and drinks, spoke about what they liked, and made plans for meeting again soon. Then, a waiter brought in a bill of Rs.40,000, which rankled Shaikh. The bill was definitely inflated, he thought, as he tried to reason with the waiter. Only to find that he was surrounded by bouncers who threatened to inform his wife about his 'scandalous activities'. The threat worked and Shaikh paid Rs.40,000, but was left nursing his guilt and the feeling that he had been cheated. Till he received a call from the MHB Colony police station earlier this month, saying he had been entrapped by an interstate gang that lured lonely men in big cities into dates and duped them via inflated bills. "I just wanted some company but ended up paying Rs.40,000 when the bouncers threatened to call my wife," he told the police after they managed to persuade him to record a statement. "I did not report the matter to the police earlier as I was embarrassed," the 52-year-old told police officers. "But when I realised that many others had been duped similarly, I thought why not, if it helps bring the perpetrators to book." Shaikh was among numerous men in Mumbai who were duped by the gang over three months, between early April and early July. The activities of the gang unravelled after Jatin Parab, a 27 year-old chartered accountant (CA), filed a complaint with the MHB Colony police station, saying he had been duped on April 12, when he met a woman named Disha Sharma at the Timess Square Hotel in Borivli West. Parab had matched with Disha on the popular dating app, Tinder, on April 11. She claimed she was a kindergarten teacher and her profile picture on the dating app showed an AI-generated image of a pretty young woman. The CA urged her to send her real photo on WhatsApp. In response, she shared a photo where her hair was covering her face, and asked him to meet her the next day if he wanted to see more. Parab was doubtful, yet thrilled about the prospects. He reached Timess Square hotel at 6pm, only to find Disha waiting for him at the designated table, dressed in expensive clothes and jewellery. They ordered some starters and drinks - two pegs of vodka for Parab and two non-alcoholic beverages for Disha - and chatted for nearly an hour till the waiter brought in a bill of Rs.35,000. Parab, who often dined at premium restaurants, was astonished with the inflated bill and picked up an argument with the hotel manager. Soon, two bouncers appeared on the scene and began pushing and shoving him, demanding he pay up. An alert Parab made an excuse to step away and called the police control room on 100 to raise a complaint. Two constables from the MHB Colony police station reached the spot soon. Assuming that the dispute stemmed from a fight between Parab and Disha, the cops asked them to pay Rs.14,700 each to the hotel to settle the bill. Parab didn't see sense but complied, relieved that he did not have to pay the full amount. Two days later, he realised that the payment, made via a QR code included in the bill, was credited to the account of a certain Akram Khan and not the hotel. Alarmed, he submitted a written complaint at the MHB Colony police station on April 22, narrating the entire sequence of events. A first information report (FIR) was registered the same day against Disha Sharma under sections of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to cheating and the Information Technology Act, 2000. "The moment we read his complaint, we realised that it had the markings of a larger scam," said inspector Atul Avhad from MHB Colony police station, the investigating officer in the case. Avhad and his colleagues began the probe based on two leads - Disha's mobile phone number and the UPI account of Akram Khan, to which the payment was credited. They sought help from cyber experts and traced Disha's mobile location to Digha village near Airoli. "Since we did not have any evidence against her, we proceeded with caution," said Avhad. A police team in plain clothes was deployed in the village to keep vigil over lodges and hotels in the vicinity. Soon, the team learned that a group of 21 people had been staying at Hotel Grand Inn near the Digha Naka since June 18. "We kept a watch on the activities of the group over several days and confirmed that Disha and Akram Khan were staying at the hotel," said Avhad. On July 5, a team led by senior inspector GR Pawar raided the hotel and arrested 21 people, including Disha and five other women and 15 men, all from the Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region) belt. The arrested accused included the alleged ringleaders of the gang - 32-year-old Mohsin Salim and 20-year-old Farhan Mukhtiar Shaikh, who earlier worked with a public relations firm in Delhi. Interrogation of the arrested accused provided the police with vital clues regarding their antecedents and activities. Farhan and Mohsin, the alleged ring leaders, began defrauding lonely men in metro cities under the guidance of their colleague at the Delhi-based public relations firm. They branched out around three years ago, following a dispute with the colleague, by roping in their girlfriends and the latter's female friends. "All six women had studied till Class 10 or 12, but desired a rich life," said Avhad. "During interrogation, they claimed they were told that they would work for an events management firm. But when we confronted them with the fake names using which they lured men, they confessed being party to the crime." Further interrogation revealed the modus operandi of the group. Farhan and Mohsin would take the lead to book four-five rooms in a budget hotel in some metro city for 15-20 days, and summon the rest of the gang there. They would get the men in the group to create fake profiles of women on popular dating apps and initiate conversations with unsuspecting, lonely men in the vicinity. When conversation progressed, they would invite the men for a date to some pub or bar in the city, where a deal to share 50% of the loot had been worked out with managers. The six women, including Disha, would take over from here. Each of them would meet at least seven men during the weekends, using a pseudonym and a fake story about their background and occupation - such as a nurse from Navi Mumbai, a makeup artist from Malad or a housewife from Dahisar - spun earlier by their male counterparts. They would order a few rounds of food and drinks - non-alcoholic beverages for themselves and alcohol for their dates. Once the men were intoxicated, a waiter would bring in a forged, inflated bill bearing the name and logo of the hotel. "Mohsin and Farhan generated these bills, containing a QR code that routed payments to their personal account, using a portable printer," said Avhad. "They relied on fake bills so that hotel managers could deny inflating bills if questioned by the police." Once the bill was served, male gang members would appear as bouncers and bar staff and pressurise the men into paying the full amount. They would then give a 50% cut to the hotel manager, along with the actual bill amount, and disappear from the scene. "The gang would make at least Rs.10-12 lakh per month after deducting the share of hotel managers," said Avhad. "They functioned mostly on weekends, and on one particular weekend, swindled Rs.19 lakh." On July 5, the Malad police also registered an FIR against the gang based on a complaint by Rehaan Sanghvi, 30, who was duped of Rs.31,900 when he met a certain Preeti, whom he came across on the dating app, Feeld, in May. "We suspect that many of the accused arrested in the case lodged at MHB Colony police station are involved in this case," said a police officer, requesting anonymity. "We will seek their custody soon and question them." Until now, the police have located at least 25 men who were targeted by the gang through the Timess Sqaure Hotel in Borivli and arrested the hotel manager for being a part of the scam. "We are now looking for more men who have been victimised," said Avhad. "After all, the city is full of lonely men who are desperate for company irrespective of their age and profession."...