Rajasthan: 13 held in Jhalawar for running honey-trap, insurance frau, arms trafficking racket

Jaipur, Sep 30 (PTI) Rajasthan Police has claimed to have a busted a racket involved in honey-trapping, insurance fraud and illegal arms trade in Jhalawar district, arresting 13 people including a woman, officials said on Tuesday.

Police suspect that 20 to 25 more people from Uttar Pradesh and other states are linked to the racket.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Amit Kumar said the racket, led by history-sheeter Hemraj Suman, was active in extortion, blackmail and fraudulent insurance claims.

The officer said a complaint received on September 24 revealed that the gang financed tractors and other heavy vehicles in the names of farmers and later disposed them off. Fake theft cases were then lodged to claim hefty amounts from insurance companies.

Acting on the input, around 20 police teams carried out simultaneous raids in Jhalawar, Jhalrapatan, Sarola and Kota, arresting Suman and his associates red-handed.

During searches, police uniforms were recovered from Suman's car, along with several bank passbooks, chequebooks, original vehicle documents, property-related stamps and agreements from his house, the SP said.

The gang also used women to trap influential persons in honey-trap and blackmail cases, threatening them with false rape charges. Fake police uniforms and illegal arms were used to create fear and extort large sums of money, police said.

Kumar said 13 accused, including gang leader Suman and a woman, have been arrested, while further investigation is underway to trace the wider network. PTI AG OZ OZ