MMS row throws light on dubious dating sites, apps

CHANDIGARH: The massive uproar over the alleged Chandigarh University case of leaked private video has thrown light on the dark underbelly of dubious activities surrounding shady dating sites and apps.
Some girls and women

who aspire to have a toned body, straight hair, branded clothes, shoes, and perfumes often “fall prey” to “elite predators” on such dating apps and dating sites. The lifestyle of a female celebrity comes with a price tag. Some attain this lifestyle with hard work, while some by being a “sugar baby”. The girl as a “sugar baby” or “travel girl” and the man as a “sugar daddy” are new-age classy, refined names for “prostitution”. A “sugar daddy” is a rich man from “elite society” who probably presents himself as a person with probity, and often searches for “sugar babies” on dating sites to make them travel and spend time overnight with him. For this, he pays the “sugar baby” all her monthly expenses and she satisfies him as per his demands. In between all this, the internet plays a big role. They meet through dating sites, create a profile online, and make payments online. Hence, both sides face the chances of being trapped, blackmailed, and exposed. Young girls and men, and even older men, are increasingly falling prey to dating sites and apps. The Chandigarh University MMS row could be one such example.
On 11 May 2022, in a case from Chandigarh, a 63-old-man was duped by a dating site of Rs 21 lakh. On 7 May, a 19-year-old boy from Chandigarh got cheated of Rs 96,000 by a dating site. In 2018, a 75-year-old doctor and millionaire from Panchkula, got trapped by a “sugar baby”, who not only defrauded the man of Rs 67 lakh, but also got his property transferred in her name. In this case, the doctor underwent a divorce at the age of 75 and got separated from his grown-up children and grandchildren. The girl was 30 years old, the age of his granddaughter.
The Sunday Guardian spoke to one “sugar daddy”, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. This 52-year-old professional hotelier has dated around 10 young women in the age group of 23-32 from different universities and colleges in the last three years. Some were just pursuing their graduation degrees and some were doing their PhD programs. All of them met him through some dating sites operating in Chandigarh. They meet after he makes some advance payments. They chat only through the dating website. Some meet on the condition of regular monthly payments and some take a bulk amount in cash. When The Sunday Guardian asked him about his wife, he said that his wife died of cancer a year ago. He also told this newspaper that many men in “elite society” aspire to be and enjoy being a “sugar daddy”.