On Wednesday, the Malvani Police busted a gang that was involved in operating a gay sex racket through the mobile app Grindr. The Police also has arrested three persons for assaulting a 23-year-old person and posting an objectionable video of him on social media.
According to Senior Inspector Hasan Mulani, the three accused Irfan Furkan Khan, Ahmad Farooq Shaikh, and Imran Shafiq Shaikh established contacts with the members of the gay community through the mobile application Grindr and guaranteed them strong young men for sex at affordable rates at their office or home.
The matter came to light when the family of the victim lodged an official complaint of theft and physical assault at the MHB Police Station. According to the reports, the victim had expressed his interest on the app to have a gay sex partner at Rs 1000 per hour. After the deal, the victim reached the accused Khan’s office at around 9:30 pm. Khan was reportedly supposed to offer the ‘service’.
However, Khan reached out to another person saying that he was unavailable for the purpose. Three of the accused co-workers also expressed inability to attend to the victim and said that they were busy already. The victim was made to wait at the office near Mohd Rafique Ground, Malvani for a sex partner.
Later, all of them who earlier had declined to be available for the victim arrived at the office and expressed a desire to have sex with him. As the victim refused the service, three accused snatched his mobile, assaulted him physically and took his money. The fourth accused person recorded the entire episode and uploaded it on social media platforms.
The victim, having returned to his home in Borivli, unfolded the incident to his family who then reached out to the Police. SI Malvani raided the location revealed by the victim and nabbed three accused on Monday. While the police are investigating the case, it is reported that more people have become victims of this gang in a similar way.
The arrested accused were produced before the Borivli metropolitan magistrate court on Monday and were remanded to police custody. The Police has charged the victims under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.