Woman held in Bhind sex racket bust under HIV treatment for last 3 yrs

Bhopal: A probe into a racket in MP’s Bhind that allegedly trapped unsuspecting men into a murky web of blackmail and extortion after threatening to implicate them in false rape cases, has thrown up a disturbing find as one of the two women arrested in this connection had been under treatment for HIV over the last three years.The racket was busted almost three weeks ago.The police have now called upon other possible victims to come forward, register complaints and take an HIV test, saying that several people may have been victimised by the gang.The racket came to light after a farmer lodged a complaint with Bhind Dehat police station on May 27, alleging that a woman approached him on his way back from the market on May 23, urging him to drop her home citing a pain in her leg.He told police that the gang later trapped him, threatening to implicate him in a false rape case and release objectionable videos if he did not meet their monetary demands.“Over the course of investigation, we learned that one of the two accused women behind the racket has been undergoing treatment for HIV for the last three years,” Bhind Dehat police station in-charge Shivpratap Singh Rajawat told TOI.He said acting on the farmer’s complaint, police arrested all four accused named in the FIR — two women, both aged around 35 years, and two men aged 25 and 40 years.

“We seized some videos from the woman undergoing treatment for HIV. Through our sources, we have already traced and identified at least three to four persons who were victimised by her. She even registered a false rape case against of one them after failing to extort money,” he said.Police said while they suspect more victims, many of them may be reluctant to come forward due to the stigma and fear of social exclusion in such cases.“We are trying to trace the other victims, counsel them for registering complaints and take the HIV test for their own safety. However, we understand why these people may not be willing to come forward due to fear of social stigma. All the four accused were sent to judicial remand. We would look into all aspects of the case as the probe unfolds further,” Rajawat added.