Woman, two men held for honeytrap extortion

New Delhi, Sep 21 : A woman and her two accomplices have been arrested on the charge of extorting money from a Delhi businessman through a honeytrap, police said on Thursday.

Sandeep Dalal, 36, Adarsh Kumar, 32, and their unnamed woman accomplice, 22, were arrested from their residences in Nangloi in west Delhi on Wednesday. Their two accomplices are on the run.

On August 28, the businessman had complained at Baba Haridas police station that the woman and her four accomplices trapped him and stole his ATM and PAN cards and a gold ring.

"He said he became friends with the woman on phone and fixed a meeting with her at the Nangloi bus stand on August 28. During the meeting, the woman invited him to her house but he refused. Meanwhile, four persons arrived at the spot and two of them forcibly entered his car, while two remained seated on their two-wheelers," Deputy Commissioner of Police Pankaj Kumar Singh said.

"They confined the businessman at a deserted place, beat him up and made a video clipping of him in a compromising situation with the woman. They demanded Rs 23 lakh from him for not circulating the clipping on social media," the officer said.

They demanded Rs 5 lakh in five days and took away his belongings and the gold ring.

The accused told police during questioning that they were involved in several cases of extortion in a similar fashion. 

The officer said the accused obtained contact numbers of intended victims after which the woman befriended them on phone. Those who fell into the trap did not report the matter to the police since they belonged to reputed families, the DCP said.

"The woman hailed from a poor family and came in contact with gang leader Sandeep Dalal who hatched the plan to earn easy money through honeytraps. We are questioning them about their criminal history," he added.