Closeted married man brutally beaten and threatened with exposure after gay dating app hook-up goes horribly wrong
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A married man was beaten, robbed and threatened with exposure after he met another man through a gay dating app in India.
The unnamed man, from Pune in the state of Maharashtra, said the terrifying incident occurred on 9 August, but he reported it late because he was afraid of having his sexuality exposed.
The 34-year-old started messaging a man called Ravi through the gay dating app and arranged to meet him at an apartment.
However, three other people burst into the room while the man was in a “compromising position” and began to beat him with wooden rods, according to Hindustan Times.
Married man was beaten and forced to transfer funds to his attackers after meeting up with another man on a gay dating app in India.
The four men then robbed him, stole a silver bracelet and rings and forced him to transfer money to one of their bank accounts.
They also took photographs of the man in a compromising position and told him that they would leak them on the internet and expose his sexuality.
An assistant police inspector said the man is a “working professional” who has been married for 10 years.
His friend convinced him that he needs to lodge a formal complaint and gave him moral support.
The man was “hesitant of filing a complaint” because he was afraid the men would disclose his sexuality to his family.
“His friend convinced him that he needs to lodge a formal complaint and gave him moral support,” the inspector said.
“To prevent the same thing from happening in the future with someone else, he decided to lodge a complaint.”
He was ultimately robbed of 81,000 Indian rupees by the men. Police are now searching for the aggressors.
The country scrapped its ban on gay sex in 2018, but problems persist for the LGBT+ community.
India repealed its colonial-era ban on gay sex in 2018, however, LGBT+ people continue to face violence and discrimination in the country.
While progress has been made, LGBT+ people are not yet protected by anti-discrimination laws in the country.
The incident comes just weeks after a lesbian couple, who are both police officers, were granted protection by the Indian courts after their families found out about their relationship.
Their families subjected them to threats after they found out about the nature of their relationship.
