Gang lured young men via dating apps, invited to AMU hostel, blackmailed with videos
10875428 crime
- ✓Apart from the two complainants, no one else has filed a complaint yet even as videos of 10 other persons have been found on the accused's phone, police said.
- ✓According to police, the accused extorted Rs 10,000 and Rs 60,000 from the two complainants by threatening to circulate their objectionable videos.
- ✓Civic Domain: Categorized under states public notices.
When a 19-year-old youth lodged a police complaint alleging he was assaulted inside a hostel room of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and later blackmailed with an objectionable video of him, investigators found that he was not the only such victim.
Police have arrested a third-year bachelor of business administration (BBA) student of the university who they alleged is a member of a gang which lured young men through popular dating and geolocation-based apps and invited them to the hostel room before recording their videos to blackmail them for money.
The investigators' suspicion was buttressed when another youth approached police with similar allegations. Police said they have found objectionable videos of 10 other young men from the mobile phone of the arrested student, Shahzil Shan Khan, and two FIRs have been registered in this connection.
The first FIR was lodged on Thursday at the Civil Lines police station by the son of an AMU employee, while the second was filed by a local resident at the Bannadevi police station. Charges of criminal conspiracy, voluntarily causing hurt, kidnapping or abducting in order to murder or for ransom, extortion and criminal intimidation have been invoked in the cases, it is learnt.
During the investigation, police claimed to have found that three more people, including a former AMU student, are part of the gang involved in the crime. “Shahzil Shan, the AMU student, was produced in a court today, which granted him bail," said Aligarh Circle Officer Sarvam Singh on Saturday.
Police are now looking for the three other suspects. Apart from the two complainants, no one else has filed a complaint yet even as videos of 10 other persons have been found on the accused's phone, police said. According to police, the accused extorted Rs 10,000 and Rs 60,000 from the two complainants by threatening to circulate their objectionable videos.
The gang targeted their victims through the dating and geolocation-based apps by searching for potential victims within a 50-km radius before inviting them to meet, they added. Police said the accused's mobile phones, dating app accounts, chats, and digital transactions, are being scrutinised.
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| Issuing Authority | Uttar Pradesh State Bureau (Lucknow) |
|---|---|
| Topic Category | STATES |
| Jurisdiction | UP State |
| Publication Date | 12 September 2026 |