Woman from Jalgaon honey-trapped forest officer and 3 others, extorted Rs 1.25 crore

INDORE: Crime branch cops cracked a case involving Class 12 pass woman from Jalgaon district in Maharashtra, who allegedly lured four men from Indore into honey trap over five years and extorted Rs 1.25 crore. Victims of 40-year-old woman include a forest department official.
The crime branch investigations began in January, when the middle-aged senior forest department officer reported to Indore IG Vipin Maheshwari, about being allegedly blackmailed by a woman, Reshma, who is living in Indore since a decade.
Investigations revealed the woman had not only honey-trapped the official in June 2014, but had extorted huge cash and property from three other men, including a 45-year-old farmer Dhan Singh Verma, whom she claims to have married, a furniture trader Babulal in city’s Rajendra Nagar area and a local scribe Prakash.
Additional SP crime Vinay Prakash Paul said till now investigations have revealed Reshma first enticed wealthy men. After allegedly making physical relations with them, she started blackmailing by threatening lodge rape cases against them.
Later, she struck ‘compromise’ by extorting money and property from them. While Reshma extorted cash and property worth around Rs 45 lakh, including a residential plot in Rau from furniture trader Babulal between 2010 and 2011, she subsequently extorted cash and property worth around Rs 40 lakh from journalist Prakash. The extorted property, included a flat in city’s Anjani Nagar area, where she presently lives.
Her last, but the biggest prey was a forest ranger RR Oghaniya from whom she extorted Rs 20 lakh cash, a SUV, a scooter and even forced him to give her a share in his ancestral property. Threatening to implicate him in a false rape case, Reshma even managed to become a nominee in his post-retirement benefits. Reshma first got in touch with the official through a property broker to sell a residential plot in Rau, which she had extorted from the furniture trader in the past. Subsequently, she became close to officer and then lured him into honey-trap.
The crime branch is trying to ascertain money extorted by Reshma from her first prey Dhan Singh Verma. With this, extorted money is expected to touch Rs 1.75 crore.
Residents of Anjani Nagar area had gone to Aerodrome police station two years ago allegedly complaining about Reshma indulging in prostitution, but a case was not lodged for lack of evidence.
“Reshma has been detained by Aerodrome police for questioning about more possible honey traps by her and booked under sections 388, 406 and 506 of IPC for extortion by threatening to lodge false case, criminal breach of trust and criminal intimidation,” Paul told TOI.