Police bust honey trap gang that targeted Delhi’s rich
Police said the gang blackmailed around a dozen men from Delhi and extorted more than ₹2 crore from them in less than a year.
The Delhi Police on Saturday said they had busted a gang of extortionists who used to “honey trap” rich men and made “objectionable videos” to blackmail them for money.
Two members of the gang were arrested in the last two days from south Delhi. A 25-year-old woman from a West Asian country, who was used to “trap” men from affluent families, and four others, including 45-year-old gang leader Jahangir alias Shekhu, are still absconding, police said.
Police said the gang blackmailed around a dozen men from Delhi and extorted more than ₹2 crore from them in less than a year. The victims include a reputed doctor, a hotelier, an architect, a bakery shop owner, two air-conditioner (AC) showroom owners, two builders, one real estate developer and a travel agent.
Barring the doctor, who filed a case a couple of months ago, the other men never informed
the police or their family members.
“Almost all of them were paying extortion amounts in instalments out of fear of being exposed. Eight men filed complaints after we told them their identities will be kept a secret,” said a senior police officer.
The arrested men are Noor Mohammad alias Aslam,38, and Mahender,33, both from south Delhi. The police had announced a R20,000 reward on Aslam’s arrest, as he was wanted in the case filed by the doctor.
Deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Pramod Singh Kushwah said the doctor told the police that in early October 2018, a woman from a West Asian country came to one a charitable health centres he visited for treatment. She frequented the clinic and became friendly with him.
Once, Kushwah said, the woman pretended that she was unwell and requested the doctor to come to her Delhi’s Zakir Nagar rented flat to examine her. The DCP said they got intimate and her associates filmed them with miniature cameras fitted in the TV set-top box.
A few days later, the doctor received a clip of the film and an extortion demand of R20 lakh . The doctor paid a few lakhs of rupees. But when the demands increased, he filed the case, police said.
Aslam was caught near Nehru Place on Thursday on a tip-off. His interrogation led to Mahender’s arrest from Okhla Mandi the next day.
“Apart from extorting cash, the gang members asked the victims to leave their debit cards at assigned places and made them share the passwords. The cards were later returned,” said an investigator, requesting anonymity.