Tushar Singh Bisht, 23 years old, has been arrested for allegedly scamming more than 700 women by claiming to be a U.S.-based model on prominent dating sites. Bisht functioned in dual capacities—he served as a technical recruiter during the day and did his cybercrime operations at night, manipulating his victims and then blackmailing them to extract money. He was apprehended in Shakarpur in East Delhi on Friday.
About the Accused
Originally, Tushar Singh Bisht hails from Delhi. His qualifications include a BBA. Before his entry into the cyber world, he used to work as a technical recruiter in Noida for three years. Still, the allure of greed and women made Bisht engage with the world of cybercrime, even though his family had ensured that he would never lack bread. He hails from a middle-class family consisting of a driver father, a home-maker mother, and an office-going sister residing in Gurugram.
Modus Operandi
Bisht would open fictitious accounts on dating applications, Bumble, and Snapchat. With a virtual international mobile number, obtained through an app, he pretended to be a freelance model based in the United States coming to India. He used a picture and the story of some Brazilian model and contacted the girl he targeted who were in the age group 18-30.
He later demanded naked photos and videos under the pretext of being friends. Bisht saved all these visuals on his phone. At first, it was all for personal entertainment but gradually transformed into a business model of extortion. He would blackmail his victims, threatening to leak their pornographic content online or on the dark web if they did not accede to his monetary demands.
The Victims
Bisht had chatted with more than 500 women on Bumble and over 200 on platforms like Snapchat and WhatsApp. The most prominent victim, a second-year Delhi University student, met Bisht in the early days of January 2024 on Bumble. After engaging in private chats on WhatsApp and Snapchat, she had shared intimate content with him. When she requested to meet him in person, he kept avoiding her. Shortly thereafter, he sent one of her private videos demanding money and threatened to leak the material or sell it online.
The student paid a very small amount considering the financial constraint, but Bisht’s persistence made her disclose the matter to her family members and then lodged a complaint with the Cyber Police Station on December 13, 2024.
The Investigation
The Cyber Police Station of West Delhi, under the supervision of ACP Arvind Yadav, initiated a detailed investigation into Bisht’s activities. A combination of technical analysis and intelligence gathering led the police to identify Bisht as the suspect. A raid conducted in the Shakarpur area of East Delhi resulted in his arrest.
Critical evidence recovered during the operation included Bisht’s mobile phone, which contained incriminating data, 13 credit cards from different banks, and more than 60 WhatsApp chat records with women from Delhi and neighboring areas. It was also revealed that at least four other women had been similarly extorted in this manner during preliminary investigations.
Financial and Digital Evidence
The investigation found two bank accounts belonging to Bisht. The first account has records of the payments he made from his victims, and the second one is still under investigation. Authorities have also traced the virtual international mobile number he used for his illegal activities, further strengthening the case against him.
Tushar Singh Bisht Arrested Tushar Singh Bisht’s arrest has brought out the rising trend of cyber extortion, where people are getting targeted through online dating and social media sites. The police have further investigations under way and details are likely to come up once they probe further into his financial transactions and relations. This incident reminds everyone that online safety and vigilance in digital manipulation and blackmailing cannot be compromised with.
