Bengaluru: A casual meeting arranged through a dating app turned into a violent ordeal for a 27-year-old civil engineer, leaving him injured and robbed. Police have arrested four persons, including two minors, in connection with the incident.Rahul (name changed) from Brundavan Layout in Chikkajala said he had been using a dating app (Grindr) when he was contacted by a youth. After exchanging messages, the youth called him to meet at Palanahalli Gate on May 1. Trusting the interaction, Rahul reached the location at 7pm. There, he found four youths who led him on foot to a secluded stretch. What initially appeared to be a casual interaction soon turned tense, with one of them engaging him in conversation while another made mocking remarks.They took him towards a deserted area near a school. Soon, the conversation turned threatening. The group allegedly intimidated him, hurled abuses, warned him against revealing details of the meeting to his friends and parents, and demanded a ransom to avoid it. When he refused, the situation escalated into violence, and they snatched his phone. One of the assailants brandished a knife and allegedly stabbed Rahul multiple times on his head, wrist, abdomen, and neck.After gaining access to his mobile phone and UPI credentials, they transferred Rs 16,000 from his account to a QR code before fleeing the scene at 7.45pm. Bleeding and shaken, Rahul managed to call his friend, who rushed him to hospital. Based on his complaint, Yelahanka police nabbed four persons, including Darshan, 20, Sunil, 19, and two 17-year-old boys. Rahul was trapped by one of the minors. They confessed that they read news about people using LGBTQ dating apps being robbed previously, and they conspired to rob someone.The accused, who are school dropouts, have no criminal past, police said. Darshan and Sunil are in judicial custody, while the minors have been sent to a govt home.
