VARANASI: After a police encounter on Wednesday, Azamgarh police arrested one Meraj Ahmed for looting people through a gay social network app. The accused suffered bullet injuries and was admitted to the district hospital.
Meraj Ahmed of Jamilpur area, used to call people at lonely places through a popular gay social network app and then loot them, said SP Azamgarh Anurag Arya adding most of his victims avoided making any complaint with police due to threat of social disrepute.
Arya said, after a person alerted Maharajganj police that some miscreants looted his motorcycle and mobile phone near Parshurampur culvert. the police carried a massive checking drive. Inspector Maharajganj HP Singh, while checking vehicles near Ragghupur barrier on late Tuesday night, noticed two motorcycle-borne persons passing through the area.
On being asked to stop, one of them opened fire on the police and tried to flee towards. In the exchange of fire with the police, Ahmed got injured and fell down while his accomplice Mohd Danish managed to escape.
Police recovered a looted motorcycle, eight mobile phones, one country-made revolver, and live cartridges from his possession.
Arya said Ahmed confessed his involvement in over 24 cases of loot and mobile snatching in of Azamgarh and Mau district. He also confirmed that he along with his gang members were active on a gay social network app. They used to contact the app members and call them at lonely places in the name of dating and then loot them.
