Bareilly (UP), February 14 Police have busted a honey-trap gang and arrested a 37-year-old woman on Saturday for allegedly extorting Rs 10 lakh from a man and threatening to implicate him in a false rape case, officials said.
The arrest followed a complaint by Manish Gangwar, a resident of Indranagar, at the Prem Nagar police station.
Gangwar alleged that the accused, identified as Pooja Sharma, developed a close relationship with him and later began blackmailing him.
"The complainant said that the woman initially extorted Rs 10 lakh from him. Recently, she demanded another Rs 12 lakh, threatening to file a rape case against him if the amount was not paid," Prem Nagar Inspector (Crime) Pramod Kumar said.
Acting on a tip-off, a police team arrested Sharma, a resident of Veer Savarkar Nagar, around 10:20 am on Saturday.
During the interrogation, the woman confessed to the crime, citing financial distress due to a domestic dispute with her husband.
She admitted to collecting the initial sum under the guise of a "settlement" after filing a false complaint.
A mobile phone has been recovered from her possession, they said.
Police have sent Sharma to judicial custody, officials said, adding that a hunt is on for two other accomplices named in the FIR.
Further legal proceedings are underway.