Ahmedabad man duped of ₹2 lakh in Tinder trap, accused posed as police officer

A 49-year-old businessman from Vatva, Ahmedabad, has alleged in his complaint that he was duped of ₹2 lakh in a honey-trap scam orchestrated through the dating app Tinder. The complainant, Rajesh Solanki, has accused a woman, who introduced herself as “Mahi Patel”, and five unidentified men of extortion, cheating and impersonating a police officer.

According to the FIR filed at Vatva police station, Solanki came into contact with the woman through Tinder in May this year. Identifying herself as a resident of Vadodara, she reportedly befriended him and convinced him to meet in Ahmedabad on May 29. 

Police said that Solanki drove to Nikol, where the woman joined him for a long drive. On the way, she was seen speaking continuously on her phone. At around 2 pm, as they reached a stretch near Prantij highway, their car was intercepted by another vehicle carrying four men.

The men allegedly pulled Patel out of Solanki’s car and forced him into the back seat, before taking control of his vehicle. The accused claimed to be police officers, with one showing him an identity card in the name of “PI M K Gadhvi”.

The men accused him of being involved in drugs and threatened to implicate him in a false narcotics case unless he paid them ₹15 lakh. After haggling, the accused allegedly settled on ₹5 lakh and forced him to part with his bank cards and passwords.

Solanki was then taken to ATMs where he withdrew ₹1.6 lakh. The accused also compelled him to transfer another ₹40,000 via a scanner app, bringing the total to ₹2 lakh. He was later abandoned on the highway around 4.30 pm.

In his complaint, Solanki stated that he initially hesitated to approach the police out of fear and shame, but ultimately decided to lodge an FIR after being unable to locate the accused. During his own search, he claimed to have found a Facebook account belonging to a man named Saksh Patel, whose photograph matched that of the person impersonating the police inspector.

Vatva police officials have confirmed that a case has been registered against 'Mahi Patel' and at least five unidentified men under charges of cheating, extortion, impersonation and criminal conspiracy. “Further investigation is underway to identify and apprehend the accused,” he said.