Sirsa cops bust honeytrap, extortion racket; 8 arrested

The Sirsa police on Friday night busted a gang whose members were involved in extortion through honeytraps. The police arrested eight members of the gang, including two women.

According to complainant Jaswant, a resident of Chilkani Dhab village in Sirsa, he received a friend request on Facebook from a woman, Khushi, about a week ago.

After chatting briefly on messenger and speaking to him over the phone, Khushi invited Jaswant, along with his friend Subhash, to meet her in Fatehabad.

The friends drove to Papiha Park in Fatehabad on Friday noon, where they met three women, including Khushi. She asked them to take the group to her relative's farmhouse at Bhirdana village.

On reaching there, Subhash stepped outside the room and the door was locked. Two men stormed the room and assaulted Jaswant, accusing him of having inappropriate relations with their wives.

They held Jaswant and Subhash hostage for several hours, seized their phones and demanded Rs 20 lakh for letting them go. The duo paid Rs 90,000 in cash and transferred Rs 50,000 through online mode.

As the gang was taking them towards Sirsa, they stopped near a private hostel at the bus stand. The "hostages" asked a trusted friend, an arhtiya, to arrange money and also tipped him about their location. Their friend alerted the police. A police team rushed to the spot and arrested eight suspects and rescued Jaswant and Subhash.

Those arrested have been identified as Suresh Kumar, Dalbir Singh, Shiv Kumar, Rajkumar, Rajesh Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Suman and Pooja Rani. The police have recovered a part of the extorted money and two vehicles used in the crime. Further arrests are expected as an investigation in the case is on.

Superintendent of Police Deepak Saharan said the case was cracked within hours under a special drive against organised crime.