DEHRADUN: A woman posing as a High Court advocate in Uttarakhand has been arrested for allegedly trapping a man in a love scam, marrying him, and then demanding a hefty sum of Rs 30 lakh under threat of murder.
Police registered an FIR based on the victim's complaint and arrested the accused, recovering Rs 50,000 in alleged blackmail money. Authorities revealed the woman reportedly has 18 previous First Information Reports (FIRs) against her in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand for similar blackmail schemes.
Deepak Kakkad, a resident of Vasundhara Bhoorarani Road, filed a detailed complaint with Senior Superintendent of Police Manikant Mishra on June 5. He stated that on May 2, he received a WhatsApp call from a woman identifying herself as "Ankita Sharma," an advocate at the Nainital High Court. She claimed it was an accidental call meant for a client.
Kakkad revealed that Ankita then began engaging him in sweet talks via WhatsApp chats, gradually ensnaring him in a love trap. She also allegedly swindled Rs 5 lakh from him under the pretext of securing a steel grilling contract.
The relationship culminated in a marriage ceremony on May 27 at Piplia Mandir Sakainia Gadarpur, after which she moved into his home. "After marriage, she began pressuring me to give her Rs 30 lakh," Deepak Kakkad told police.
When Kakkad expressed his inability to pay, the woman allegedly threatened to have him killed if he didn’t comply. Frightened, he approached the police. Subsequent investigations revealed that "Ankita Sharma" was, in fact, Heena Rawat, a known blackmailer from Kashipur. It was also discovered that she used another alias, "Nikita Singh," with a fake Aadhaar card. Police checks further revealed that she was already married and allegedly operated with a gang, often filing false rape cases against victims to extort money.
SSP Manikant Mishra confirmed the details on Saturday, stating that an FIR was registered based on Mr. Kakkad's complaint.
"Upon confirmation of the allegations during investigation, the accused woman was arrested late Friday night near Hotel Uday on Kichha Road," SSP Mishra told the TNIE. Police recovered Rs 50,000 and a fake Aadhaar card from her. She was produced in court on Saturday and subsequently remanded to judicial custody.