Mumbai: 21-year-old arrested for assaulting, robbing doctor through dating app

Mumbai: In yet another case of systemic violence against people from the LGBTQIA+ community, the JJ Marg police have arrested the mastermind of a gang, a 21-year old person, who had been cheating people by joining a gay dating application, which recently came to light after they assaulted and robbed a senior doctor of his personal belongings. 

As per a media report in the Free Press Journal, the accused after meeting the doctor on a dating application arranged to meet at a place. However, the accused along with his aides assaulted the doctor and stole his mobile phone and wallet. The doctor managed to escape and eventually filed a complaint with the police.  

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The arrested person has been identified as a 21-year-old resident of Mumbra, Natiq Naushad Shaikh. 

The police said that the doctor, a resident of Parel had got to know about Shaikh on April 28 through a dating application, following which they decided to meet near the Khada Parsi area near Nagpada. 

The accused then took the doctor to another place, where three of his aides were already waiting. Shaikh then attacked the doctor and took his phone and wallet. The doctor, however, managed to escape and informed the police. 

As per a media report in the Times of India, an FIR was registered at the JJ Marg police station. The investigation was conducted by a team led by senior inspector Subhash Borate. The Sub-inspector Sham Bhise gathered technical intelligence and traced the person whose mobile was used to create an account of the accused on the dating App, who was reported to be a friend of Shaikh. 

The police gathered CCTV footage from the area and captured his photos, following which he was arrested on Saturday and had been remanded in police custody, reports the TOI. 

A police officer told the Free Press Journal, "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."

The police officer added, "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."

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