TIRUNELVELI: Five persons, including a juvenile, have been booked by Sivanthipatti police for allegedly robbing a 40-year-old man of Rs 48,500. Sources said one of the suspects had invited the victim to an area for sex through an online dating app for the queer community, and then trapped him. According to the complainant, he was working as a driver for a doctor in the locality. Recently, he received a message from one of the suspects through a dating app and the latter invited him to Shanthi Nagar.
"When he went to the spot, the suspect along with four others threatened him and demanded money. He was forced to transfer Rs 42,500 to one of the suspects' bank account through GPay. Further, the gang made him ask the doctor for Rs 5,000, and obtained that too. They also stole Rs 1,000 from the victim's pocket. Before allowing him to leave, they threatened to kill the victim if he revealed the incident to anyone," the complaint read.
Three of the five suspects have been identified as Muthuselvam (18), Esakkimuthu (18), and Muthu (23) of Krishnapuram. It may be noted that last month, Courtallam police arrested some suspects for allegedly robbing a religious preacher, who invited them for sex through an online dating app.