MUZAFFARGARH: Fatehpur police have arrested two women members of an extortion gang that used honey trap tactics in Layyah district. The gang, consisting of eight people, would entice victims into fraudulent relationships through social media and telephone, subsequently robbing them. The gang would establish contact for developing a relationship or marriage proposal. They would invite the victims to their homes, hold them hostage and and extort money from them. Fatehpur Station House Officer Malik Abid Hussain said two women, Saima Noreen and Saba, were arrested for cheating through phone calls. The gang had also engaged in blackmail, forcing the hostages to create explicit videos at gunpoint. The SHO said police rescued Muhammad Sarwar, a hostage hailing from Lahore.
Sarwar had been lured into a marriage proposal and taken hostage upon his arrival in Fatehpur. The two women shifted him to their residence by a rickshaw, where he was held hostage, robbed of cash and coerced into producing compromising videos. Sarwar managed his escape and contacted his relatives, who then approached the police. On the orders of Layyah district police officer, the SHO and his team conducted a raid and arrested the two women and recovered cash, weapons and mobile devices from them. Other members of the gang managed to escape prior to the raid. Police are conducting raids for arrest of the remaining six suspects Tariq Javed, Irshad, Sabatin, Wazir Ahmed, Manwar, and Imtiaz. Police have filed a case against them under sections 420, 292, 382, 342, 148 and 149.
(Daily Dawn)
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