The Railway Special Task Force has arrested two youths who robbed homosexual individuals whom they would lure through a dating app. The accused, both 19-year-old college students, created fake profiles to approach potential victims
The accused, Ravishankar alias Ravi alias Nandan Leelakant Zhan and (below) Anubhav alias Hrithik Nanhelal Ozha
The Railway Special Task Force has arrested two youths who robbed homosexual individuals whom they would lure through a dating app. The accused, both 19-year-old college students, created fake profiles to approach potential victims. Once contact was established, they would arrange to meet their victims in person, taking them to a secluded area in the Kandivli railway yard, where they used knives to threaten and rob them.
The accused have been identified as Ravishankar alias Ravi alias Nandan Leelakant Zhan, who claims to have started an import-export firm, and Anubhav alias Hrithik Nanhelal Ozha. Both are residents of Poinsur, Kandivli. According to police, Ravi needed money to fund his business, while Anubhav claimed he required cash to buy food for his gym training regimen.
Modus operandi
According to the police, the duo’s most recent victim was a 19-year-old college student from Borivli. An officer explained, “The accused created fake profiles on the Grindr dating app, which is popular among homosexuals. After chatting with potential victims, they invited them to meet at isolated spots, including the Kandivli subway.” “One of the accused would meet victims in the subway and then lead them to the Kandivli railway yard via the tracks. The other would be waiting there with a knife. Together, they would threaten the victim and rob him,” the officer added.
Recent incident
On May 16, the 19-year-old victim, who identifies as gay, received a message on Grindr from the accused suggesting a meeting. They agreed to meet in the Kandivli subway after sundown. “Around that time, the victim met one of the accused, who initially borrowed R2700 from him. The accused then led him to the Kandivli railway yard, where the second accused was waiting with a knife. The duo threatened the victim and robbed him of his iPhone 12 Pro Max, a three-gramme gold chain worth Rs 30,000, four-gramme gold earrings worth R40,000, and R2800, which was transferred via a payment scanner,” the officer said.
The investigation
The victim immediately reported the incident to the Borivli Railway Police and filed an FIR under Sections 309(4) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deal with robbery and criminal acts done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention of all, respectively. The police then launched an investigation, reviewing CCTV footage of the area around the yard.
Under the guidance of Senior Police Inspector Vijay Khedkar, a team was formed comprising Police Inspector Rohit Sawant, Assistant Police Inspector Abhijit Taylor, Police Sub-Inspector Sabirkhan Pathan, Woman Assistant Police Sub-Inspector Minakshi Gohil, Police Constables Vivek Jalvi, Sudarshan Deshmukh, Somnath Gaikwad, Shoaib Shaikh, Sachin Khandagale, Sunil Kumbhar, Ganesh Mahagavkar, Vaibhav Shinde, Mahesh Kale, Police Constable Naik Chandrakant Holkar, Siddharth Kamble, Kunal Walds and Woman Police Constable Snehal Gadge. “We traced the accused to their residences and arrested both of them,” a police official said.
“Ravi confessed that he committed the crime to finance his new business while Anubhav admitted that he needed money to maintain his diet so her could attain his bodybuilding goals,” a police officer said.
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