New Delhi: On 24.06.2024, complainant ‘T’, a civil services aspirant, reported that on 23.06.2024, he met his Tinder date Versha for her birthday. She took him to Black Mirror Café, Vikas Marg, where they ate snacks, two cakes, and Versha had four shots of fruit wine.
After that she left abruptly without informing the complainant, later cited family issues. The café manager then presented ‘T’ with a bill amounting to Rs. 1,21,917.70. When he disputed the bill, he was threatened, confined, and
forced to pay, for which he made an online payment. Later, on feeling scammed, he reported the matter to the local police, who accordingly registered a case FIR No. 277/02024, u/s 120B/420/392/34 IPC at PS Shakarpur.
INVESTIGATION:
A team comprising of ASI Narender, HC Sachin, HC Rahul, and Ct. Amrit Lal was formed under the supervision of Insp Sanjay Gupta, SHO/Shakarpur to work on the case. The said amount was transferred to one of the owners of the café Mr. Akshay Pahwa, 32 Years, R/o Shivam Enclave, Vishwas Nagar, Shahdara, Delhi.
Upon interrogation, accused Akshay disclosed that the Black Mirror café is owned by: Akshay Pahwa, Ansh Grover, and Vansh Pahwa. Akshay and Vansh are cousins, while Ansh is their friend. They employed Digranshu as the manager, who oversees several ‘table manager’ teams, including one led by one Aryan. He further revealed
the real identity and details of pseudonym Versha i.e., Afsan Parveen @ Aaysha @ Noor, 25 years, who is residing at Krishna Nagar. With the help of technical surveillance, accused Afsan Parveen was apprehended at another café where she was with a boy from Mumbai, whom she had met through Shadi.Com.
During interrogation, accused Afsan Parveen disclosed that Aryan communicated with ‘T’ under the alias name ‘Versha’, sharing her photo in onetime view mode and inviting him to Laxmi Nagar on June 23, 2024, under the
pretext of celebrating her birthday. The bill amount at Black Mirror café is divided in a fixed ratio: 15% to the girl, 45% between the table and café managers, and the remaining 40% to the owners. The investigation of the case is in progress and efforts are being made to arrest other co-accused.
MODUS OPERANDI:
Several such schemes operate in major metro cities like Delhi, NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad to extort money from innocent victims. The modus operandi involves collusion between café owners, managers, and individuals who trap victims through dating apps. These individuals, known as ‘table managers’, create fake profiles on dating apps and lure victims to the café, where they are overcharged for food and drinks. If the victim refuses to pay, they are threatened, beaten, or confined until they comply. Social stigma often prevents victims from
reporting such incidents to the police.
PROFILE:
1. Akshay Pahwa, R/o Shivam Enclave, Vishwas Nagar, Shahdara, Delhi age 32 Years, is 10th class passed & one of the owners of the Black Mirror café. 2. Versha @ Afsan Parveen @ Aaysha @ Noor, R/o unknown and presently
residing in Krishna Nagar, with one Aryan, age 25 years, is 7th class passed and is jobless.
INVOLVEMENT: – Nil.
RECOVERY: –
1. 02 Mobile phone of Akshay & Versha.
2. Register of the Black Mirror Café
