Bengaluru girl lured men in 25-30 age group, got them on hidden camera, associates blackmailed her victims

Claiming to have caught the couple red-handed, her associated would create a ruckus. Using footage from the hidden camera, they would blackmail their victims to extort money.

Puttenahalli police arrested a gang of three persons who were setting up a honey trap for gullible people through a messaging app, on August 1.

The accused are Prakash Baligar, Abdul Khadar and Yaseen. They were operating along with Neha Mehar and her boyfriend Nadeem.

According to the police, the accused had rented a house in Vinayaknagar. Neha would lure men aged between 25 and 30 to the house using the Telegram messenger app. She would record their interaction using a hidden camera.

After some time, Prakash, Abdul and Yaseen would barge into the house. Claiming to have caught the couple red-handed, the trio would create a ruckus. They would blackmail their victims using footage from the hidden camera to extort money, the police said.

In the last six months, police believe, the accused had trapped over a dozen persons and extorted lakhs of rupees by threatening to upload the video clips on social media, and informing their relatives and friends .

Fearing social stigma, many men did not complain. However, a private firm employee was unable to bear their harassment. He mustered the courage to file a complaint.

Based on his complaint, the police tracked down Prakash, Abdul Khadar and Yaseen. Their got ₹20,000 from their bank account.