Hyderabad: Six members of a gang allegedly involved in luring and looting people through the dating app ‘Grindr’ were arrested by Keesara police on Saturday, April 11.
The accused have been identified as Kusuma Karthik, 25, Ram Raja, 28, Kandula Saiteja, 26, Gandla Sravan, 26, Macherla Pawan Kalyan, 25 and Chennakeshavula Pavan Kalyan, 25, all residents of Warangal. One more accused, Bablu Singh is currently absconding.
According to the police, the accused would first reach out to the victims through the app, gain their trust, and then take them to isolated locations around Outer Ring Road (ORR).
There, they would threaten victims, record their videos on mobile phones to intimidate them, and forcibly rob gold ornaments and cash before fleeing.
Their activities came to light after a victim filed a complaint stating that on April 6, some people took him to Bacharam village in Abdullapurmet, where he was assaulted and robbed of a 16-gram gold chain.
The accused have been booked for a similar offence at Abdullapurmet police station. Kusuma Karthik, Kandula Saiteja and Macherla Pawan Kalyan are habitual offenders with multiple cases against them, police said.
This post was last modified on April 11, 2026 10:41 pm