6, including 3 women, held for honey trapping and extortion

Six people, including three women, have been arrested in Keshavpuram area of the city for allegedly honey trapping their victims and extorting money from them, the police said today.

Joint Commissioner (Crime) of Police Alok Kumar said the gang used to lure people from different parts of Delhi and other cities through online dating sites and WhatsApp, and extort money after honey trapping them.

A written complaint was received by police from a computer professional that he was honey-trapped and thrashed by four men posing as policemen and a mediaperson to extort Rs 25,000 from him at a flat in Keshavpuram on April 1.

Acting on the complaint, a team of crime branch officials raided the flat on April 7 after deploying a decoy customer and nabbed three women. They also arrested one Sameer Siddiqui and Sanjay, the officer said.

Another member of the gang, Suraj, was arrested later.

Of the six accused, five were presented in a court yesterday which sent the three women in judicial custody while Sameer and Sanjay were sent to police remand for two days, the police said.

"Sameer, who claimed that he worked as a reporter in a TV channel, and Sanjay, who posed as a police officer, used to conduct sting operation on victims with the help of their accomplices," Alok Kumar said.

During investigation, video clips of the complainant being thrashed by the members of the racket was found saved in a mobile phone of the accused, the police officer said, adding, two cameras, 10 mobile phones, three TV mikes, diaries and documents bearing incriminating details have been seized.