04 April,2015 07:30 AM IST | | Vinay Dalvi
The accused would take the money and send an SMS with the name of the venue; when the client would call asking why the girl hadn’t turned up, they would ask for more money, saying the rates had increased
Three men were arrested on Friday for allegedly running an illegal online escort agency. According to the police, the accused would post photos of models and small-time actresses and would share the links of their portal on social networking websites to lure people.
However, after a client would pay the money and reach the venue, the escort would never turn up. The Cyber Crime Investigation Cell of Mumbai police's Crime Branch have arrested Vinod Amarjit Singh (32), Sunil Ramashankar Gupta (35), both Bhandup (West) residents, and Ankit Suresh Pitroda (24) a resident of Wagle Estate, Thane (West).
Police said that after a prospective client would check their website, he would approach the trio, who would ask him about his requirement. "They would tell the client to deposit money in their account and then send an SMS with the name of the restaurant where he has to wait for the girl," informed Dhananjay Kulkarni, deputy commissioner of police, Crime Branch. Once the client would realise that the girl is not going to turn up, he would call them back.
The accused would then demand more money, saying the rates had increased. "We found out about their modus operandi from an unidentified caller; no complainant had approached us. We laid a trap and arrested them," said Kulkarni.
Six mobile phones, 11 SIM cards under fake names and Rs 49,500 was recovered from the accused. According to the police, the accused have cheated several people this way, but no-one had lodged any complaint. The trio has been booked under sections of the Information Technology Act.
