Bengaluru: Honey trap, kidnap, blackmail for ransom: Gang of 8 arrested

Seven men and a 28-year-old woman have been arrested in a honey trap and kidnap case. Police say Madhu alias Priya, a resident of Hosakere near Kengeri, and her male friend Tirumalesha alias Tirumala, a resident of Hebbal, are the masterminds.

The others are Tirumala’s associates Dalbir Singh alias Deepu from Nepal, Mukesh, Kemparaju, Manjunath, Naveen and Bharath. Kumar, 30, (name changed) drives a cab.

He and his friend Kiran (name changed) had booked Priya for ‘escort service’ on the night of February 17.

Kiran met Priya recently through Tirumala. He had told Kumar about Priya. The two friends partied at a bar and picked up Priya from the vicinity of the Kengeri bus stand and took her to a lodge in Madiwala. Kumar spent time with her from 11.30 pm to 1.30 am, according to the police.

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After that, Kiran asked Kumar to drop him to his house. When Kumar stopped his car in front of Kiran’s house in Devarachikkanahalli, seven men on three two-wheelers surrounded the car and accused him of hitting one of their scooters. A few of them got into the car and drove it towards Bannerghatta Road.

The gang robbed Kumar, Kiran and Priya of their mobile phones. When they were driving near Koli Farm gate, Kumar jumped out of the car and escaped. With the help of a cab driver, he called the police control room and went to the Beguru police station and filed a complaint.

A police team headed by inspector H D Anil Kumar and sub-inspector Guruswamy Hiremath zeroed in on the gang in Nanjangud on Sunday, and connected the dots.
They say they found that some from the gang had driven the car to Nanjangud with Kiran and Priya, and the others had followed them on their two-wheelers.

After leaving the city, Priya and the others told Kiran to pay them Rs 5 lakh as ransom for his safe release.

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Police say Madhu, a mother of two girls, changed her name to Priya after the death of her husband. With Tirumala and his friends, she started extorting money from people she got intimate with.

Tirumala allegedly threatened Kiran and Kumar that he was a media person and had contacts in the Hebbal police station. He claimed that he had caught them on the instructions of the police.

Tirumala, a native of Andhra Pradesh, lives in Hebbal with his mother. He does odd jobs. He met Madhu a few months ago and became friendly with her.

Police say the gang had tricked people using the same modus operandi. Many victims have not filed complaints fearing social stigma.