Kolkata, Nov 27 (IANS) The Kolkata Police on Thursday issued an advisory on “dos and don’ts” and cautions to be adopted by the citizens while meeting people they have befriended through dating apps.

The advisory had been issued after a chartered accountant was found dead in a hotel room at Kasba in Kolkata.

Chartered accountant Adarsh ​​Losalka was murdered after he refused to pay Rs 20,000 to his “girlfriend”, whom he met on a dating app, and tried to stop a robbery attempt.

The woman and his partner who killed Losalka were arrested by the police a day after the murder.

They confessed during police interrogation that they used to blackmail clients like Adarsh and extort money.

The Kolkata Police have issued a warning after a series of blackmail and fraud incidents in the name of special friendship on dating apps came to light.

Several people have lost huge sums of money after falling into the trap of dating apps in Kolkata and the surrounding districts.

Therefore, the police suggested that people should not provide bank details or personal information to short-term acquaintances on dating apps under any circumstances.

However, some gangs are blackmailing or cheating young men by trapping them through dating apps.

According to the police, men are also involved in that gang with women who usually look for potential ‘clients’ as their target of financial fraud.

The police advised that even if someone goes to a hotel or other place with the ‘girlfriend’ after meeting on a dating app, they should not give her any of their bank details.

It is better not to carry valuables and ATM cards when going on such dates.

“People have also been asked to be careful when paying money online. Since the new friend through a dating app is little known to them, one should use the mobile in front of that friend in such a way that she cannot see the PIN or pattern of the mobile. People need to exercise caution while dealing with people met through such apps,” said a senior officer of Kolkata Police.

Police sources said that last month, detectives from Kolkata Police’s Cyber Crime ​​Police Station raided an office near Minto Park in south Kolkata.

An illegal call centre was being run by renting an office there. Detectives arrested 17 people, including 16 women, after searching the place. They used to extort money from people willing to date by pretending to be interested in them.

Last month, after meeting on a dating app, a woman named Ankita Apte took a businessman to a hotel in East Jadavpur area and made him drink a lot of alcohol. The businessman fell asleep. Then the so-called girlfriend robbed him of his gold ornaments and disappeared.

–IANS

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