Woman Holds Married Man She Met On Dating App Captive, Assaults Him For Ransom

A married man in India was robbed of over $8,400 after he went out on what he thought was a date, with a woman he met online. The woman allegedly held him captive and threatened to let him go only after he paid a ransom.

The 36-year-old husband from the state of Maharashtra met the woman on a dating service app called Quack Quack, the police said in a statement Monday. The man, who manufactures and sells furniture, began chatting with the woman in 2021 before they eventually decided to meet up in person, according to Mid-Day.

The two met at a pre-decided location. And, once the man arrived, the woman took him to her house, cops said. She later held the man hostage and beat him up along with her accomplices.

“The man was held captive in her house by the woman and other accused — one of them a woman — who thrashed him and demanded Rs 10 lakh (around $13,370) for releasing him,” an officer said, as quoted by The Times of India.

The suspects threatened to defame the man if he refused to shell out the money, the officer said. “They snatched credit cards of the victim and his wife and withdrew Rs 6,32,100 (around $8,450) before allowing him to go,” the officer added.

The man went to the police Monday and filed a complaint against the woman and her accomplices, who may face charges that include extortion and robbery among others.

The investigation continues, and no arrests have been made so far.

An unrelated incident that also took place in India saw a man being asked for ransom money in exchange for his kidnapped father’s return. The 42-year-old father was later accused of faking his own kidnapping by the alleged abductor.

The son, Anuj, received a call on Dec. 13 last year and was asked for a ransom of Rs 5 lakh ($6,575) after the man on the line said his father, Virendra Kumar, had been kidnapped. Anuj later went to the police and filed a complaint, following which a man identified as Hariom was arrested. Hariom confessed to cops about making the ransom call but claimed he only did so because Virendra Kumar asked him to.