Accused into transfer-postings: MP honeytrap case charge sheet

A 400-page charge sheet was filed on Monday in the honeytrap and blackmail case busted in Indore and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh in September this year.

The honey-trapping racket was revealed after IMC superintendent engineer Harbhajan Singh approached police claiming he was being blackmailed to the tune of Rs 3 crore over objectionable video clips.

Five women and a man, identified as Aarti Dayal (29), Monica Yadav (18), Shweta Vijay Jain (39), Shweta Swapnil Jain (48), Barkha Soni (34) and Omprakash Kori (45), were arrested in Indore and Bhopal on September 18-19 for allegedly running the racket.

The charge sheet was filed in the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Amit Kumar Gupta against the six persons who have been charged under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 370 (human trafficking), 385 (intimidating a person to extort ransom) and others of Indian Penal Code and provisions of Information Technology Act, said District Public Prosecution Officer Mohammad Akram Sheikh.

The charge sheet stated the organised gang involved in this case used girls, brought to Bhopal through human trafficking, to honeytrap rich and influential people through objectionable videos of their intimate moments, screenshots of social media chats etc.

It said the gang was also involved in the transfer and posting of the government officials by threatening influential people, earning money in the process.

The police had seized documents and private diary from the premises of Aarti Dayal (29), one of the accused, in which the details of the amounts made from blackmailing has been recorded in code.

These documents also mention transfers, appointments and contracts etc related to government departments.

However, no name other than that of the complainant, an official of Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC), has been mentioned in the charge sheet.

"Investigation is underway to identify the individuals who have been blackmailed on the basis of their intimate video, audio and social media chats and to know about their (suspected) criminal role in the case.

"The inquiry is still pending to know if such persons were public servants and misused their position in any way to provide benefits to the accused," the charge sheet said.