To fund his wedding, man honey-traps priest, kidnaps him and extorts Rs 50,000; arrested at marriage ceremony

BHOPAL: Notorious criminal Akash alias Bhura Haddi and 2 members of his gang were arrested for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to honey-trap, blackmail and extort a priest to arrange money for his own marriage.

Akash alias Haddi was arrested during his marriage function on Tuesday night. The accused not only assaulted the priest, but also abducted him and confined him to a flat in the Bajpai Nagar Multi area.

They forced his brother to transfer Rs 50,000 as extortion. They left him, threatening him to arrange another Rs 8 lakh or else they would file a rape case against him.

Akash's fiancée threatened to die by suicide after getting information about his arrest. She met senior police officials on Wednesday and even appeared before the court to get him released for marriage, but he was sent to jail considering the seriousness of the matter. According to police, the 25-year-old priest filed a complaint stating that he knew Akash Upadhyay, who also worked as a priest.

Two days ago, Akash called him to his rented room in the Lalghati area, where a young woman was sitting. Akash told the priest he would return shortly and left the room, taking the priest's scooter.

Soon after, Bhura Haddi arrived at the room with his associates. They threatened the priest, accusing him of being involved in an illicit act with the woman and warning that they would implicate him in a rape case.

The accused then took the priest to a multi-storey building in Bajpai Nagar, where they assaulted him. Under pressure, the priest called his brother, who transferred Rs 50,000 to Akash's bank account.

The accused released the priest only after receiving the money.

Police said he used his girlfriend as bait in the blackmail scheme. As a result, she was also named an accused in the case.