Ex-airhostess, hubby held for honey trapping

Hyderabad: The Cyberabad Commissionerate's Moinabad police on Thursday busted a honey trap racket and arrested a couple for cheating and threatening the businessmen and targeting the NRIs.

By arresting the accused Manchikala Vijay Kumar (30) and his 23-year-old wife, who had worked as an airhostess earlier, searched their residence at Hyderabad and seized one toy pistol, bond papers, photographs, instant photograph printer, a bottle of artificial blood, passport, a car and 6 mobile phones from the possession of the accused.

According to Shamshabad DCP N Prakash Reddy, they have received a complaint from a 58-year-old man on October 18, stating that on August 11, a woman came to his church in Moinabad and told that she was suffering with ill-health and requested him to offer prayers for her good health.

Later, she introduced herself as the chairperson for 7 hotels and got more acquaintance with him and made him to move along with her to resorts, cinema theatres and restaurants.

Later, she obtained photos in close intimacy. Afterwards, she told him that she got a tender of PFC Restaurant and she paid Rs 1.5 crore as bid amount and wanted hand loan Rs 10 lakh cash from him to pay the remaining amount.

On October 2, she informed him on phone and told that the KFC tender conformed to her and the concerned officials are coming to a resort at Shankarpally area.

She further requested him to attend the programme and later invited him to her cottage for dinner in the night. When he reached there, she served an apple juice mixed with an unknown intoxicant by consuming it when he lost his consciousness and found himself in a bathroom tub on the next day morning.

Subsequently, Vijay Kumar entered into the room and put a pistol on his head in point blank range and bet him. Later, he obtained his signatures forcibly on bond paper by writing on it that he had borrowed Rs 1 crore from them. When they threatened him, the complainant in fear paid Rs 10 lakh cash to them.

The accused couple later started threatening him regularly to pay the remaining amount to them. In fear, the complainant lodged a complaint to Moinabad police.

On receipt of complaint police registered a case under various sections and arrested the accused couple and remanded them. DCP said the accused was doing hotel business in the name of 'V' Hotels at Gachibowli and incurred Rs 2 crore loss.

After one year, he married the woman at Birla Mandir, who worked as an airhostess earlier. To clear his debits, he hatched a plan along with his wife and committed the offence.