Gangs involved in flesh trade fixing clients in fake rape cases

Police say fake rape complaints pose an added challenge to investigators in cases of crime against women; at least one fake rape case a week has been reported this year so far

CHANDIGARH/KARNAL : Gangs dabbling in flesh trade and fixing their clients in fake rape cases to extort money are on the prowl in the state, according to the police.

In what the police describe as “honeytraps or extortion rackets”, the number of rape related complaints that at the initial stage of investigation are turning out to be a “trap to target the customer” are on the rise. At least one fake rape case a week has been reported this year so far.

“This year alone the police have detected 37 honeytrap cases, which will fall flat. About 20% of the rape cases every year are being cancelled as they are found false during investigation,” said BS Sandhu, director general of police (DGP).

The police say that such fake rape complaints pose another challenge to the already grappling investigators as far as cases of crime against women are concerned, especially with the alarming rise in rapes and gangrapes.

Worse still, every new rape complaint — whether genuine or fake — turns out to be worse than the previous one in terms of brutality and audacity of the crime.

TRUTH OR LIE?

Last week, a woman of Rewari walked into a police station in Jind alleging that she was ‘gangraped’. The case turned out to be the latest instance of fixing the prey in fake rape FIR. The woman, police say, was demanding ₹2 lakh from a 58-year-old farmer, to withdraw the complaint.

“We arrested her red-handed along with another woman and a man while she was receiving ₹2 lakh from her client,” a Jind police official said.

The officer added, “However, in the beginning, it appeared to be a genuine rape case. The FIR was registered against two people. Suspicion arose as the

woman refused to undergo medical examination and also refused to record her statement before the magistrate.”

The rape accused farmer, police said, furnished a call record to prove it was the woman who was frequently calling him. “Finally, we trapped the woman and her accomplices,” a police investigator said.

In another case close on the

heels of the Jind case, on September 22, police arrested three people, including a woman, while extorting ₹5 lakh from a man in Kaithal by threatening to implicate him in a fake rape case.

AS Chawla, additional director general of police (operations) said, “Dealing with honeytrap cases is a new challenge. The frequency of such cases is on the rise.”

COPS HAND IN GLOVE

Not only are the ‘honeytraps’ gangs active, but sometimes policemen are also involved in these rackets. For example, in July this year, a sub-inspector in Bhiwani was awarded five-year jail for helping a woman trap a trader in a false rape case in 2013.

On May 24, the vigilance bureau arrested a driver of Hisar’s women police station in-charge, who was involved in extorting money to settle a rape case while the gang was allegedly run by the woman SHO.

Police say that earlier this month, a senior employee of the Hisar-based Agricultural University was accused of raping the minor daughter of his maid. The maid later began demanding ₹25 lakh to settle the case, police said.

“The police nabbed all the accused red-handed while accepting ₹10 lakh to withdraw the case. The court sent all the accused to jail,” Sandeep Kumar, inspector, who investigated the case, said, pointing out that the accused doctor had recorded the conversation in which the woman was demanding money to withdraw the rape case.

In the first week of January, police had busted at least five honeytrap gangs operating in Bhiwani, Rohtak, Sirsa and Jhajjar. Their modus operandi was to lodge false rape cases against men and extort money.

In Rohtak district, the police had arrested a brother-sister duo who were demanding ₹95 lakh from a city-based contractor to withdraw a false rape case, while in Bhiwani, police arrested a woman and a man for demanding ₹6.5 lakh from Tosham youth to withdraw the rape complaint, which was false, against him.

HOW FAKE VICTIMS GET CAUGHT

The cops involved in investigation of these cases said the common modus operandi of these ‘fake rape victims’ is that they delay recording their statement before the magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC to hammer out a deal with the ‘accused’.

“Police have to record the statement of the rape victim as fast as possible, but we cannot force the complainant,” said a senior police officer. Haryana Human Rights Commission chairman justice SK Mittal (retd) said, “We are ready to provide assistance if the victim writes to us about any false case. We take action if we get a complaint from anybody.”