Mangaluru: Couple arrested for honey-trapping astrologer

Mangaluru: A couple was arrested for honey trapping and fleecing money from an astrologer by threatening to make his intimate pictures public, police said on Friday.

The accused — Bhavya (30) of Mylapura Village in Kodagu and Kumar alias Raju (30) of Arakalagodu in Hassan –were apprehended by the Mangaluru rural police.

As per the police, the duo invited a Chikkamagaluru-based astrologer to their rented house in Padavinangady for finding a solution to their marital problem. During the time, the couple clicked photos and videos of the man in compromising positions and used them to blackmail him.

Police said the couple had forced the victim to hand over Rs 15 lakh cash and transfer Rs 34 lakhs into several of their accounts.

The couple spent the money gotten on luxuries. They had recently leased an apartment at Maryhill for Rs 10 lakh and spent another Rs 7 lakh to furnish it. They also bought a new two-wheeler. However, police have confiscated only Rs 31,000 in cash, 2 gold rings worth Rs 37,000, and 4 mobile phones from the accused.

Many other victims may have been similarly trapped by the couple, police said.

Preliminary investigation has revealed the involvement of several other suspects in the case, and efforts are ongoing to trace the accomplices, police said.

Bhavya was produced before the court and has been remanded to police custody for 5 days, police said.