Social Media Honeytrap: Woman, 2 Aides Held for Drugging and Looting Man in Cuttack

 Bhubaneswar: In a case of alleged social media honeytrapping and robbery, Purighat police in Odisha’s Cuttack have arrested three persons, including a woman accused of drugging a man and looting gold ornaments and cash worth lakhs of rupees.

Police said the incident took place on January 10 at a hotel in the Haripur area. The accused woman allegedly befriended the victim through social media and later arranged a meeting at the hotel. During the meeting, she is suspected to have mixed intoxicants into a soft drink, causing the man to lose consciousness.

After the victim became unconscious, the accused allegedly fled with gold ornaments, cash and other valuables from the hotel room.

The prime accused was identified as Itishree Sahu, described by police as the mastermind of the operation. Her husband, Mahesh Das, and another person accused of purchasing the stolen gold ornaments have also been taken into custody.

During the investigation, police recovered around 200 grams of gold ornaments, Rs 53,500 in cash, mobile phones, ATM cards and Aadhaar cards from the accused. Officials said further inquiry revealed that additional funds were transferred through digital transactions.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Zone-6, Cuttack, Ashok Giri, said nearly 200 grams of gold and around Rs 1 lakh in cash were looted, while approximately Rs 80,000 was transferred through online payment platforms. Police are examining whether the accused siphoned off money through other means.

Investigators suspect the accused may have targeted victims through social media platforms and are probing their possible involvement in similar cases.