PALAKKAD: In a honey trap incident, an industrialist from Irinjalakuda was befriended through social media and was robbed of his ATM cards, money, a gold chain and a car. The Palakkad South police team led by Inspector T Shiju Abraham arrested six persons including a 24-year-old woman who was used by the gang to lure the industrialist.
The police said the industrialist had befriended Sarath who posed as a girl through Instagram and he was asked to come to Yakkara in Palakkad where he was robbed of his money, a gold chain weighing four sovereigns, a car, a mobile phone, documents and debit and credit cards. In his complaint, the industrialist said while he was being forcibly taken by the gang to Kodungallur, he jumped off it and escaped.
He later arrived at the Palakkad South police station and filed a complaint in which he said his photos and videos were taken by the gang members and he was being threatened. He said he had befriended a girl through Instagram and she had sent messages repeatedly to him. It was Sarath, of Pala, who had initially introduced himself as a girl and began chatting with the industrialist. Sarath, who had claimed that he was a girl, said her husband was in the Gulf and there was only her sick mother at home. Sarath then told the industrialist that he wished to see him and he agreed.
Sarath hired Devu and her husband Gokul Deep for a fee. Later, Devu used to send voice clips to the industrialist. Earlier while Sarath was chatting, he had told the industrialist that his house was in Palakkad. Subsequently, Sarath searched for a house online and took one located in an isolated area at Yakkara on rent. After bringing the industrialist to the house, all others gathered there and threatened him on grounds of moral policing.
Later, they took the industrialist in his car forcibly to their flat in Kodungallur and planned to fleece more money from him. Though the gang members tried to withdraw more money from a ATM kiosk, they were not successful and the industrialist managed to escape from the car.
The accused were arrested from a lodge in Kalady. Those arrested included Devu, 24, of Mangiserri Melethil at Perunad in Kollam and husband Gokul, 29, who were both living in Santhi Homes at Hill View on the Seaport-Airport road in Kakkanad, Ernakulam. Gokul is of Puthiyamottam family at Varam, Valiyannur, Mele Chovva in Kannur.
The others are Sarath, 24, of Anandha Bhavan at Ramapuram in Pala, Kottayam; Jishnu, 20, of Kakkeri house; Vinay, 24, of Kootuvala house; and Ajith, 20, of Thivanchkulam house — all at Karalam in Irinjalakuda.