Woman among four acquitted of charges of honey-trapping citizen for extortion

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) has acquitted four accused, including a woman, for lack of evidence in a case pertaining to the kidnapping of a citizen through honey-trap techniques for extortion.

Sajjad Khan, Muhammad Arbaz, Muhammad Salman and Shannu, alias Shahana, were charged with keeping a citizen in wrongful confinement to extort money in December last year.

The ATC-IX judge, who conducted the trial in the judicial complex inside the prison, pronounced his verdict reserved after recording evidence and arguments from both prosecution and defence sides.

The judge ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the charges against the accused, ordering the jail authorities to release them forthwith if they were not required in any other case.

According to the prosecution, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Sindh police had apprehended four accused for allegedly using honey-trap tactics to abduct people to extort money. Shannu, female member of the gang, would make friends with men via phone and then arrange meetings at specific locations.

Upon the individual’s arrival at the designated spot, Shannu’s associates would abduct him.

The prosecution further asserted that the abductors falsely posed as CTD personnel to blackmail their victims.

An FIR was registered under sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 384 (punishment for extortion), 385 (putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion), and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) read with Section 7 (terrorism-related offenses) of the Anti-Terrorism Act at the Al-Falah police station.

The complaint was lodged by Shumail, one of the victims, who disclosed being targeted by the alleged gang. According to Shumail, the accused extracted a ransom of Rs200,000 from him after his abduction.

Subsequently, the CTD police arrested the gang as they converged at a rendezvous point to obtain an additional Rs700,000 from the victim.