High-Profile 'Honey-Trap' Racket Busted in MP Was Operated by Owner of Local NGO in Bhopal

Bhopal: The busted high-profile honey trap racket that used to swindle money from wealthy individuals like bureaucrats and politicians, was operated by a woman who ran a local NGO in the city, the police said.

Four women, along with their male aide were held and one of them was a college student. A native of Rajgarh, the college student was a BSc student in the city and allegedly frequented several IAS officers and politicians, the police said.

The high-profile extortion racket that involved blackmailing politicians and government officials with videos was busted by Madhya Pradesh police officials in Bhopal on Wednesday night. The data recovered from the cell phones and laptop of the women revealed that the gang was in touch with about 40 call girls who helped them lure and trap victims. The racket was reportedly operated by an 48-year-old woman who runs an NGO and made women feign affairs with high-profile persons to extort hefty sums of money.

According to the police, the gang members first got in touch with wealthy men, befriended them and later asked them to meet in hotel rooms where their associates installed hidden cameras to capture men in a compromising position. These objectionable clips were then used to blackmail them.

Sources said that half a dozen senior politicians, at least 10 IAS and IPS officers, civil engineers and builders were trapped by the gang in the last few years.

Two members of the gang were arrested in Indore on Tuesday night when they came to collect money from senior engineer of Indore Municipal Corporation, Harbhajan Singh, Indore SSP Ruchi Vardhan Mishra told the media on Thursday.

The officer also claimed that on the on the information of arrested women, three more were arrested from Bhopal with the help of ATS. According to sources, one of the women was employed with the Congress social media cell. The male accused is allegedly her husband and earlier worked with her before being expelled by the party.

The police have recovered rupees 14 lakh, mobile phones and a laptop from the accused.

Sources claim that the racket, which went almost unnoticed for years, came under the scanner after the members started interfering in transfers and tenders. The police are now assessing the data recovered from investigation.