COIMBATORE: Two college students, aged 17 and 18, were assaulted and robbed of two expensive mobile phones, a laptop and a scooter by three men at a hotel in Peelamedu on Thursday night.According to police, the students, residents of Peelamedu, had become acquainted with Darshan, 23, of Trichy, through a dating app. The trio had reportedly been communicating regularly through the app. Darshan informed the students that he would be visiting Coimbatore and asked whether they would be willing to meet him in person.The students agreed to meet him. On Thursday, Darshan arrived in Coimbatore and contacted the students, asking them to meet him at a hotel in Peelamedu where he was staying. The students went to the hotel and called him over the mobile phone. Darshan came to meet them and took them to a room where two other men were also present. He introduced them as his friends.While they were talking, Darshan and his two associates attacked the students and snatched their gadgets and the scooter on which they had arrived. The trio fled the place after snatching the valuables worth more than Rs 3 lakh.The victims later informed their parents, who lodged a complaint with Peelamedu police. Police registered a case against Darshan and his two associates, identified as Akhil and Vignesh. Police have launched a search for the three accused, who were absconding.
