Jaisalmer police arrest six over alleged Grindr kidnap and extortion

Police in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, say they have arrested six suspects after a man who contacted them through Grindr was allegedly abducted, beaten and forced to transfer Rs 1.42 lakh by UPI, according to Rajasthan Patrika and an IANS wire report carried by Daijiworld on 10 November. The account of the incident below consists of police allegations.

The complaint was filed at Kotwali police station on 9 November. Police say they arrested six suspects within two hours of receiving the complaint. They say the black Hyundai Creta allegedly used in the abduction was stopped and seized in a market area, and that they have moved to freeze or hold the UPI payments.

The DII Take

Police have not accused Grindr of any wrongdoing, and DII has not seen a statement from the company. But this is at least the third reported Indian case in about 15 months in which police say Grindr was used as the lure, and for trust and safety teams the pattern matters more than any single arrest. Fast policing is a good outcome, but the harm in cases like this happens long before anyone files a report.

Police allege a staged pick-up

According to the IANS copy, the complainant alleged that four men drove him out of the city, yet six people were arrested. The reports do not reconcile the gap. Police say their preliminary investigation found he had contacted the accused through Grindr and was asked to share his location near Gita Ashram. One suspect allegedly collected him, and others joined shortly afterwards.

The group allegedly drove him to Baramsar, took his phone and ATM card, forced the transfer, photographed and filmed him, then left him at an isolated spot. Patrika says the accused drove him around for about 1.5 hours in a rented car and threatened to kill him, and that one of the six is a woman. DII has not named the complainant or the suspects.

A pattern for safety teams to watch

Police say they arrested six suspects within two hours of receiving the complaint.

Lucknow police arrested four people in March over a gang accused of using Grindr to lure and extort men, NewsGram reported. In August 2025, The Week reported that Kerala police said more than a dozen other victims had not complained, partly because of the nature of the case and their social status. In DII's view, under-reporting is the real exposure.

Grindr reported Q3 revenue of $141.4M, up 22.1%, on 5 November. Watch whether Jaisalmer police find further victims, and whether Grindr comments on safety in India.

Sources: Jaisalmer Dating App Fraud: 6 arrested for kidnapping, assault and money transfer (Rajasthan Patrika); Six held within two hours in Grindr dating app kidnapping, extortion case (Daijiworld); Rajasthan: Man lured via dating app, kidnapped, robbed of Rs 1.42 lakh; six arrested (IANS via The Hawk); Grindr Q3 2026 results press release (Grindr Inc. / SEC); Grindr Form 10-Q for quarter ended 30 September 2026 (Grindr Inc. / SEC); Digital Honeytrap Gang in Lucknow Used Dating App to Blackmail Gay Men (NewsGram); How dating app Grindr became a trap: Kerala Police bust 4-member extortion gang (The Week)