A gang of cheats that duped a city trader by dragging him into a honey trap and extorting Rs 15 lakh from him was busted on Tuesday. A 24-year-old woman gang member used to send lewd messages to the trader and later threatened to make the messages viral on social media, demanding a ransom of Rs 15 lakh in various stages. The city police have arrested the gang members, including the woman, Arjun Lokhande (30), Honey Bhushan Chavan (18), Crystal Nilesh Ranade (20), and Aditya Shere (all residents of Bhavsinghpura). The City Chowk police laid a trap at Rangar Gully and arrested all the accused on Tuesday evening.
According to the details, the woman got in touch with the trader on WhatsApp and developed a friendship over the past eight months. They used to chat regularly on WhatsApp and even exchanged some videos. She and her accomplices then started blackmailing him, threatening to make the messages viral on social media. They regularly demanded money from him and had collected around Rs 15 lakh so far.
It was learned that the husband of the 24-year-old gang member is a listed criminal and is presently in prison under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act.
The victim trader had given lakhs of rupees to the gang regularly. Still, they kept demanding more money from him. He had taken loans from various persons to fulfill their demands. He was under depression and even wanted to commit suicide due to their mental torture. However, the timely action by the police in this matter put the accused behind bars. The police have started the investigation and are looking into whether the gang has duped any other traders in a similar way.
