Azamgarh (UP), Mar 17 (IANS): The Azamgarh police have arrested one Meraj Ahmed, following an encounter, for looting people through a gay social network app.

The accused suffered bullet injuries and has been admitted to the district hospital.

According to police sources, Meraj Ahmed of Jamilpur area, used to call people at lonely places through a popular gay social network app and loot them.

SP Azamgarh Anurag Arya said that most of his victims avoided making any complaint with police due to threat of social disrepute.

Arya said that one of his victims had alerted Maharajganj police after some miscreants looted his motorcycle and mobile phone from near a culvert.

Inspector Maharajganj, H Singh, while checking vehicles near Raghupur barrier on late on Tuesday night, noticed two motorcycle-borne persons passing through the area.

On being asked to stop, one of them opened fire on the police and tried to flee. In the exchange of fire, Ahmed got injured and fell down while his accomplice Mohd Danish managed to escape.

Police recovered a looted motorcycle, eight mobile phones, one country-made revolver, and live cartridges from his possession.

Arya said Ahmed confessed to his involvement in over 24 cases of loot and mobile snatching in Azamgarh and Mau district.

He also confirmed that he, along with his gang members, was active on a gay social network app. They used to contact the app members and call them at lonely places in the name of dating and then loot them.