Indore police are investigating a suspected honey trap extortion plot targeting a liquor dealer, with seven arrests made and electronic devices under forensic examination to uncover deleted evidence.
Police in Indore have decided to send the mobile phones and other electronic devices of seven people arrested for allegedly conspiring to extort Rs 1 crore from a liquor dealer to a forensic laboratory amid fears of a new "honey trap" gang in operation, an officer said on Monday.
Police suspect the accused had deleted alleged incriminating videos and other digital evidence before their arrest.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Rajesh Kumar Tripathi told reporters that the seven accused arrested in the case were produced in a local court on Monday after their police custody period ended. They were sent to jail in judicial custody.
Tripathi said the investigation showed that a woman is the main conspirator in the case, and all seven accused were in contact with each other.
He said that the accused allegedly conspired to trap a city-based liquor businessman and tried to extort Rs 1 crore from him by threatening to defame him by making his private photos and videos public.
According to the DCP, no incriminating videos have been recovered from the accused's mobile phones so far.
"It is possible that the accused deleted the videos and other digital material before their arrest. Therefore, the accused's mobile phones and other electronic devices will be sent to the forensic science laboratory for examination," he said, adding that various aspects are being investigated, emphasising gathering technical evidence.
Tripathi dismissed as "misleading" the reports which claimed that the gang had also entrapped police officers.
He said that no new complainants have surfaced other than the liquor businessman.
The DCP said the accused woman and police constable Vinod Sharma, who have been arrested, had been in contact for a long time.
He said the constable has been suspended for his alleged involvement in a criminal conspiracy to extort money from a businessman.
The other arrested accused in the case include Jaideep Dixit, the son of the woman accused, Lakhan Chaudhary, Shweta Jain, Jitendra Purohit, and Reshu Chaudhary.
He said Shweta Jain was also an accused in the infamous "honey trap" case that came to light in 2019.
Tripathi said Shweta Jain and the woman accused met while in jail.
According to officials, the "honey trap" gang that surfaced in 2019 extorted money from wealthy individuals and high-ranking officials by using women as a trap, shaking political and administrative systems in the state.