Kanpur: In Jalaun, dating applications are becoming a nightmare for men who are lured to isolated locations on the pretext of meeting their partners, only to be stripped, video-recorded and forced to pay money to safeguard their reputation.In the past few weeks, two similar incidents have been reported in the district, where victims were lured through a dating application and taken to a jungle, where compromising photographs were captured, leading to blackmail, extortion and theft of their belongings.In the most recent incident on June 16, a 25-year-old man was lured through an online dating app and called to a forest near Jolhupur Mod in the Kalpi Kotwali area, where an explicit video of him was recorded and he was subsequently blackmailed for money.The man, who resides in a village under the jurisdiction of Ata police station, told Kotwali Kalpi police that he had been using an online dating app, through which he started chatting with an unknown individual.He said he was led to a forest along the Jolhupur–Madaripur road, where three other young men, already present there, joined them.It is alleged that all four individuals coerced him into undressing and recorded an obscene video of him. They then threatened to make the video public and harm his family if he did not pay Rs 10,000.He said that out of fear, he handed over his mobile phone and Rs 600 that he had in his pocket. He alleged that the men continued to pressure him for Rs 10,000 every month, threatening to release the video and harm his family if he failed to comply.In a similar incident on June 8, a 24-year-old man alleged that he was called to the Jolhupur turn on the pretext of a meeting, where he was stripped and video-recorded. He alleged that the culprits demanded Rs 50,000 from him, out of which he paid Rs 16,000.Based on the victim’s written complaint, police have registered an FIR against unknown persons and started an investigation.Inspector, Kalpi Kotwali, Ajay Brahm Tiwari said that both cases are being investigated and the accused will be identified and arrested soon.
