The Mico Layout police arrested two men and a woman for allegedly extorting money from a vegetable vendor in a honey trap racket. According to the police, the woman, posing as a customer, befriended the vegetable vendor who runs a vegetable shop in BTM Layout.
On September 29, as it was heavily raining in the evening, the woman entered the vendor’s shop seeking shelter. The two started chatting, and the woman introduced herself as Fathima, a resident of NS Palya in BTM Layout. They exchanged numbers before she left and started chatting regularly.
They decided to meet on October 6, and Fathima gave him directions to her flat. The vendor did not realise that he was being recorded while they were in the flat. After some time, people started knocking on the door. When Ravi answered it, other members of the gang barged in claiming to be Fathima’s relative.
They blackmailed him with video clips, and took his SUV, mobile phone and ₹5,000 in cash. He also transferred Rs 32,000 to their account. The gang demanded that he pay them ₹10 lakh failing which they would publish the clips online, and left in his SUV.
Ravi filed a complaint with Mico Layout police on October 8, following which the police tracked down the woman. Based on her statement, the police arrested two of her associates and recovered ₹16,000 in cash, a debit card, and the victim’s SUV and a mobile phone. Efforts are on to nab other members of the gang who at still large, said the police.
The arrested are identified as Neha Fathima, 25, her male friend Taslim Basha, 36, Mohammed Arbaz, 25, all residents of BTM Layout.
