Madhya Pradesh honeytrap ring:

‘Hit list’ of 13 IAS officers found so

far
P Naveen / TNN / Updated: Sep 26, 2019, 16:18 IST

BHOPAL: The honeytrap ring that targeted powerful ministers and

bureaucrats in MP — perhaps the biggest such extortion syndicate in the
country — had a ‘target list’ of senior IAS officers, who they had marked
under codes to record who all had fallen for their lure and could now be
extorted.
The question is, who pulled the strings? Who handled this all-woman sex
and blackmail syndicate, and who gave them the targets?

The SIT, which is probing the sex and blackmail syndicate, has come
across a list of 13 IAS officers — who served at different points of time in
fisheries, agriculture, culture, industries, urban administration, labour,
forest, water resources, public relations and general administration
departments — that the women kept, say sources.
Read Also: India's 'biggest' sex scandal: 4,000 smut files of VIPs tumble
out in Madhya Pradesh honeytrap probe
The ring handler had created the ‘hit list’ from pages of a government
diary, with ticks & codes scribbled against their names. Names of some
officers were encircled, and some marked ‘Imp’ or ‘Ok’. Some had ticks
marked against their names. Police are trying to crack these signs and
words meant to the gang, said an official. How many of them got hooked
is still a matter of investigation, but police have recovered clips of a few
officials from the women’s cellphones, said sources. Inspectors are facing
a rather embarrassing time compiling lurid details and transcripts of the
seized sex clips.
“All honey-trapped officials who are identified in these video clips will be
showcaused, regardless of post or seniority, after a forensic analysis,” said
a senior IPS officer. Police have found that one of the IAS officers snared
in the honeytrap had even changed his cadre to shake them off.
Nearly 4,000 files containing screenshots of sex chats, videos of officers
in compromising positions, and audio clips have so far been extracted
from the laptops and mobile phones confiscated from the honeytrap ring.
Five more girls, who were allegedly used by this pan-India quid-pro-quo
sex syndicate, have been identified. Some are said to be teenagers. SIT is
yet to decide on a line of action on these girls, but sources say they are
investigating the possibility that some of them may be minors.
Trafficking Case
CID on Wednesday registered a case of human trafficking against three of
the honeytrap suspects on the basis of a complaint lodged by the father
of the youngest accused, an 18-year-old. She was arrested on the basis
of an extortion complaint by Indore Municipal Corporation engineer
Harbhajan Singh, and is in police custody.
After being suspended by IMC, Singh is in shock. “He was annoyed by the
daily demands of money from these girls. He only wanted them to get rid
of them with a formal complaint,” said a police officer. Many believe that
he became the scapegoat of a senior bureaucrat, who was himself
honeytrapped.
Watch Madhya Pradesh: 4,000 smut files of VIPs tumble out in India's
'biggest' sex scandal