Panipat, August 21: The Panipat police on Thursday arrested two men accused of honey-trapping a Malaria inspector by threatening to implicate him in a false rape case and demanding Rs 11 lakh from him.
The accused were identified as Ashish and Sonu, both residents of Naultha village. Two women who allegedly conspired with them remain at large.
DSP (Traffic) Suresh Kumar Saini said a resident of Israna lodged a complaint on July 7 at Old Industrial Police Station. The complainant alleged that around 10 days earlier he had met an acquaintance, Narendra Pandit, along with two women—one introducing herself as a lawyer and the other as her friend. They exchanged numbers and later called him to a flat in Panipat on July 6.
“There, he was offered a cold drink and forced into a compromising position. Soon after, two men entered, snatched his phone, misbehaved with him and threatened to frame him in a rape case. They initially demanded Rs 11 lakh but later settled for Rs 4 lakh. On the spot, they forcibly took Rs 22,500 and pressured him to arrange the rest,” Saini told reporters at the Mini Secretariat.
Based on his complaint, a case was registered under Sections 308(2) and 308(6) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Panipat SP Bhupender Singh assigned the investigation to CIA-II Inspector Phool Kumar, who later arrested Sonu from the grain market and Ashish from Sonepat road.
During interrogation, the duo admitted to conspiring with two women accomplices. They confessed to renting a flat in Panipat with the intention of luring men, secretly recording objectionable videos and then extorting money, police said.
DSP Saini added that Sonu has a lengthy criminal history with 15 cases, including murder, robbery, snatching and Arms Act violations. He had been sentenced to 10 years in a robbery case and was released on 70-day parole from Karnal jail in March. However, he failed to return on June 3.
The accused were produced in court on Thursday and remanded to police custody for further questioning. Efforts are on to trace the absconding female accomplices, police said.
