Moradabad police bust honey trap racket; four held, two absconding

Moradabad police arrested four in a honey trap extortion racket, recovering ₹40,000 and mobile phones. Two suspects are still at large.

In a major crackdown on criminals involved in extortion, the Moradabad police have unearthed a honey trap racket and arrested four people, including two women, who lured victims through social media and blackmailed them using obscene videos and false legal threats.

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Police recovered ₹40,000 in cash and four mobile phones from the accused. Four members of the gang were arrested on Wednesday while two others are on the run.

SP city Kumar Ran Vijay Singh stated that a retired man residing in the Civil Lines area had approached the police with a formal complaint.

According to the victim, a group of individuals secretly recorded his objectionable videos through honey trap, and demanded ₹10 lakh from him by threatening to frame him in a false rape case. Fearing public humiliation and legal trouble, the victim immediately paid ₹50,000 cash to the accused.

During the investigation, police discovered that the conspiracy was jointly planned by the accused Sonu Sharma and Aman, who roped in two women — Mehak alias Farida and Rani — to trap the victim. Sonu provided Mehak with the victim’s contact number, after which she initiated friendly chats over WhatsApp and phone calls. Gaining the victim’s trust, Mehak invited him to a rented flat under the pretext of meeting in person.

Unknown to the victim, three other gang members — Rahul Sharma, Radheshyam, and Rani — were already waiting at the flat. The group recorded compromising videos and photos of the victim with Mehak. They later used these visuals to extort money, threatening to implicate him in a fabricated rape case.

The arrested individuals were identified as: Rahul Sharma of Ekta Colony under Majhola police station; Radheshyam of Chandanpur under Mundapande police station; Mehak alias Farida of Diwan Ka Bazaar and Rani of Mohalla Gulabra Ka Bagh under Nagfani police station.

In addition to ₹40,000 in cash, four mobile phones used in the crime were seized during the arrests. Police are now searching for Sonu Sharma and Aman Kumar, who are absconding.

Notably, police investigations also revealed that Mehak alias Farida had previously served jail time along with her lover in connection with the murder of her own father. Authorities are now preparing to take further legal action and expand the investigation, suspecting the involvement of other victims and gang members.

Moradabad police have appealed to the public to remain cautious of unknown contacts over social media and to report any suspicious communication to the nearest police station.