'Hi' on WhatsApp turns out to be 50L honeytrap bid

Rajkot: A message of ‘Hi' message from a woman on WhatsApp was a trap for a 31-year-old provision store owner from Morbi, who narrowly escaped paying Rs 50 lakh in extortion to a gang.

Investigations revealed that the honeytrap conspiracy against the complainant, Pankaj Patel, was orchestrated by his cousin, Kishan Sokhariya, and the latter's girlfriend, Priya. Both have been arrested. Police said Sokhariya was eyeing Rs 10 lakh that Patel recently got from a land deal.

In the complaint lodged at Bhesan police station in Junagadh, Patel said that on April 1, he received a message from an unknown number. When he replied, the woman introduced herself as Janvi from Vadia in Amreli. The two began speaking over the phone and she said she would be visiting Virpur soon and suggested they meet.

Patel had no clue Priya was talking to him by assuming the name Janvi.

On April 5, she called Patel, saying she was heading to Virpur and asked him to join. Patel and Sokhariya left for Virpur in the latter's car. On reaching there, ‘Janvi' joined them in the car. While they were on their way to Bhesan, she asked him to stop the car to use the toilet. Suddenly, four men arrived on two motorcycles, and one of them took Janvi away on his vehicle while the three others forcibly got into the car with Patel and Kishan. They accused Patel of abducting the woman and threatened to frame him in a rape case unless he paid Rs 50 lakh.

When Patel said he did not have the money, they told him to give them a cheque or arrange for cash. They took him towards Visavadar and dropped him off near Jetpur bus station, keeping Sokhariya with them and asking Patel to return with money or a cheque. Patel returned home by bus and told his family what happened.

The woman Patel met in Virpur was a decoy used by the gang.

Junagadh deputy superintendent of police (DySP) Hitesh Dhandhalia told TOI: "On verifying the sequence of events narrated by Patel, Kishan's role raised suspicions. We picked him up for questioning and he broke down and confessed."

A week prior, Priya had accessed Patel's bank details via his mobile phone and learned that Rs 10 lakh was deposited in his account. She discussed this with Sokhariya, and they decided to honeytrap him.

The probe also revealed the name of Shailesh Giri alias Bhano as another suspect. Police found that Bhano had a similar case registered against him in Rajkot district earlier.