Prateek Jadhav, a 34-year-old IT professional, was thrilled to find a match on Tinder on a Saturday morning this month. The woman soon asked for his phone number, the conversation moved to WhatsApp, and within an hour a date had been fixed for the evening.

At 5.45 pm, Jadhav met the woman, who identified herself as Manisha, at Crystal Plaza in Azad Nagar of Andheri West. She then took him to a dim-lit pub named The Godfather, where the Navi Mumbai resident was made to pay Rs 55,000 for five drinks, a hookah, and two plates of snacks.         

“The place was super shady, dim-lit, and full of couples sitting in privacy and in a shady surrounding. But she told me it was recommended by her cousin, and I went along with it,” said Jadhav, adding that minutes after entering the pub, the woman ordered two 60-ml Antiquity whiskey drinks, two pints of beer, a corn dish, a plate of chilli chicken, a hookah, and a fire shot. Their table was populated with these within five minutes of the order.

The woman, who claimed to be a make-up artist, natively from Aligarh and brought up in Delhi, went to the washroom 10 minutes later, and soon the waiter came over with a bill of Rs 45,000. “I had thought the bill would go up to Rs 6,000…I was stunned and frightened but kept quiet,” said Jadhav, who asked for the final bill after the woman returned. The bill had inflated further to Rs 55,000. “She pretended to be shocked too. I was terrified and considered raising a complaint, but by then I knew I was trapped.”

“Even five-star hotels don’t charge so much. I wanted to protest, but all the bouncers were closely watching us, and the intimidating atmosphere made me feel trapped. So I paid the bill, and we left. She then never responded to my calls and texts.”

Jadhav told Newslaundry that he found many others who have been duped in a similar manner. “I discovered that a group of six to seven girls working with the pub were involved in scamming people.”

Many victims of the scam

Jadhav and another alleged victim, Arun Kumar, together lodged a case against the pub and the women. Kumar had reportedly paid an “inflated bill of Rs 73,000”. Newslaundry also found at least 16 other individuals who had allegedly been duped in a similar manner at The Godfather.

Abdul Mannan, a 31-year-old Mumbai resident, was called to Pizza Express at DN Nagar within hours of matching with a woman, purportedly named Komal, on Tinder on July 22. She claimed to be a native of Agra in Uttar Pradesh, studying fashion design in Mumbai.   

Mannan said Komal’s “persistence to meet” led him to agree to the meeting despite being “initially hesitant”. On meeting her at Pizza Express, she insisted on going to The Godfather pub. “Despite my reluctance, she convinced me, saying that she knew the place well, so we went there. Little did I know, I would be scammed in the next hour.”

As soon as they reached the pub, Komal ordered a hookah and alcohol. She subsequently called for four more drinks with four Red Bulls. “Every 10 minutes she would get up under the pretext of going to the washroom or receiving a phone call. After some time, when the bill came, I was shocked.” 

The bill was Rs 35,949. 

“I had realised that something was fishy, but I paid the bill,” Mannan said.

Shaad Khan, 29, recounted paying Rs 16,000 at The Godfather after his Tinder match named Jahnvi brought him there. “She was unusually clingy, and once we sat down, she ordered three pegs of whiskey. I later discovered these were not proper whiskey but spiked with cold drinks. She then asked me to order a fire shot, and when I inquired about the price, the waiter simply said they would get me the best one.”

Khan eventually “felt uneasy” and called for the bill. He paid Rs 16,000 for drinks and snacks and an additional Rs 1,200 for a pack of Esse Light cigarettes. As soon as he paid the bill, Jahnvi said she had to go somewhere and left. “I was stunned.”

Another venue, same modus operandi  

A club named Red Room inside Maurya Classic building in Andheri West is reportedly another venue for similar scams. Newslaundry found that at least four young individuals had paid “inflated” bills at the club after coming there with persons they met on dating apps.   

A 32-year-old local businessman who requested anonymity claimed he was assaulted for refusing to pay an inflated bill on May 20. “I matched with a woman on a dating app named Happn. She quickly gave me her number, and we planned to meet near Oshiwara in Andheri West. She said she wanted to go out for drinks and took me to a pub called Red Room.”

He was “stunned” to receive a bill of Rs 24,000 for a hookah and about five Jägermeister drinks for the woman and a pint of beer for himself. “I told her I didn’t have that much money. She seemed sympathetic and said she would arrange for the payment by calling a friend. But she went outside and never returned. That’s when I realised I had been scammed.”

The club’s waiters and bouncers subsequently approached him, demanding the money, and as he explained that he doesn’t have the money, they allegedly began assaulting him. “I had to call a relative who helped me cover the bill so I could get out of there. Later, I discovered that many others have been similarly deceived at that pub.” He lodged a police complaint at the Amboli Police Station. 

Another 36-year-old man working with a software firm told Newslaundry that he was “scammed” at Red Room. 

“In March, I matched with a girl named Dhara on Bumble. She claimed to be from West Bengal and doing a hairstyling course in Mumbai. She took me to Red Room and within the next 20 minutes, she had already had about three Jägermeister and Red Bull. I suspect they served her mixed juice instead of the drinks. The bill was Rs 20,000. I had no choice but to pay.”

While The Godfather Lounge and Cafe is run by one Akash Singh, the owner of Red Room is a woman named Hema Chaudhary. Newslaundry tried to reach out to both of them with queries on the matter. This report will be updated if a response is received.

‘No arrest, delay in legal action alarming’

Jaywant Shinde, a senior police inspector at Amboli police station, said, “We have registered FIRs and have started investigating both the clubs. We have not arrested anyone yet.”

Furqan Shaikh, who is providing legal assistance to alleged victims of the dating scam, said, “This is not just a case of minor cheating but a well-organised network defrauding individuals on a large scale.” He claimed there was a reluctance to include harsher charges such as criminal conspiracy, cheating, and breach of trust is alarming.” 

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