App date turns costly for Civil Services aspirant

Tribune News Service

Samad Hoque

New Delhi, June 28

A Civil Services aspirant fell victim to a scam that began with what seemed like an innocent birthday celebration. The police have arrested two persons who orchestrated the dating app scam, officials said on Friday.

The police reported that the victim, “T”, met his Tinder date, Versha (one of the accused), who took him to Black Mirror Café on Vikas Marg to celebrate her birthday. After enjoying the snacks and four shots of fruit wine, Versha abruptly left, citing family issues.

“T” was shocked when the café manager presented him with a staggering bill of Rs 1,21,917.70. When he disputed the bill, he was threatened, confined and forced to make an online payment. The victim reported the incident to the police. A case was registered under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 392 (robbery) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.

An official said the investigation revealed that the amount was transferred to Akshay Pahwa (32), one of the café owners. Deputy Commissioner of Police, East District, Apoorva Gupta, said, “Akshay disclosed that the café is owned by himself, his cousin Vansh Pahwa and their friend Ansh Grover. They had employed a manager, Digranshu, who oversaw table manager teams, including one led by Aryan. Akshay revealed the real identity of ‘Versha’ as Afsan Parveen (25), also known as Aaysha and Noor, residing in Som Bazar, Krishna Nagar.”

“Afsan was arrested at another café while with a youth from Mumbai, whom she had met through a matrimonial website,” the DCP added.

During interrogation, Afsan confessed that Aryan communicated with ‘T’ under the alias ‘Versha’, sharing her photo in one-time view mode and inviting him to Laxmi Nagar on June 23 for the birthday celebration.

The bill at the café is divided into fixed ratios — 15 per cent to the girl, 45 per cent between the table and café managers, and 40 per cent to the owners, the official said.

“Efforts are being made to arrest other co-accused,” officials added. The DCP said the incident sheds light on a broader scheme operating in major metro cities like Delhi, NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, where café owners, managers and individuals collude to extort money from innocent victims.

“These individuals, known as ‘table managers’, create fake profiles on dating apps to lure victims to cafes, where they are overcharged for food and drinks. If the victims refuse to pay, they are threatened, beaten, or confined until they comply. Social stigma often prevents victims from reporting such incidents,” she added.

Pahwa of Vishwas Nagar has studied up to ClassX, while Afsan has studied till Class VII and is currently jobless. The police have recovered two mobile phones belonging to Akshay and Afsan and a register from the café.

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