India dating app sextortion racket busted: Women trap rich men, millions demanded, 400 videos seized

In India’s Maharashtra state, authorities have uncovered an alleged sextortion racket targeting wealthy men, with one notorious case demanding a staggering Rs30 million ($338,000) from a prominent individual. Aditya Gupta, a 35-year-old from Nagpur, was arrested following the discovery of an extensive blackmail operation that involved dating applications, secretly recorded videos, and fabricated sexual harassment and rape allegations.

Police have recovered over 400 explicit videos from Gupta’s mobile phone as they investigate the scale of the operation and determine how many men may have been targeted across multiple Indian cities. The modus operandi of the racket saw Gupta recruit financially struggling women, including engineers and working professionals, by offering them between Rs400,000 and Rs500,000. These women were instructed to create dating profiles on platforms like Mika and connect with affluent men.

Once intimate conversations began, the women secretly recorded the exchanges, which later became the basis for the extortion scheme. Gupta would then approach police stations posing as a legal adviser or social activist, urging officers to register sexual harassment or rape complaints against the men. He allegedly threatened to file serious criminal proceedings to extort huge sums of money from the men in exchange for settling the cases.

The investigation began when Gupta sought Rs30 million from a man named Irfan, prompting police to suspect his excessive involvement in multiple cases. Police initially cooperated but later brought Irfan to Nagpur to examine the allegations and uncover the evidence of a coordinated blackmail operation. Gupta has been arrested, and six months in jail have been registered against him.

More than 400 videos have been recovered from Gupta’s phone, and investigators are examining whether they were used to blackmail other men. They are also investigating whether similar complaints were filed in Delhi, Pune, and other cities. The police are trying to determine how many women were involved in the operation and whether some of them were exploited or manipulated themselves.

Gupta, originally from Agra, Uttar Pradesh, lived in Pune at the time of his arrest and was known to maintain an extravagant lifestyle, driving luxury vehicles, and staying in five-star hotels. He also cultivated an image of political influence, using manipulated photographs displaying himself with senior political leaders as his WhatsApp profile picture. Police are examining his alleged connections with influential individuals and his past theft complaint filed by his brother in Agra.