MP honeytrap: Woman habitual of filing false cases, court told

New Delhi: The woman, arrested in an alleged honey-trap case involving Gujarat MP K C Patel, has been habitual in filing cases of sexual offence against other parliamentarians and police officers for extortion, the police claimed in a court here today.

The Delhi Police said the woman had first approached them for registration of a rape case against Patel, but later retracted her allegations.

The submissions were made by the police in an Action Taken Report (ATR) filed in pursuance to the court order asking them to examine the case since when the woman had approached it for registration of FIR against Patel.

However, during the intervening period, she moved an application before the investigators to retract her allegations against Patel, a sitting BJP Lok Sabha MP from Valsad in Gujarat, the police said.

The MP, in the meantime, had also approached the police which arrested the woman, who is now in judicial custody.

The police, in the ATR, said that in the complaints filed against others as well, the woman had later retracted her claims since her intention was only to extort money.

The counsel appearing for the woman claimed that the politician was misusing the police and she has been arrested in a false case filed by the MP.

Metropolitan Magistrate Harvinder Singh then asked the counsel for the woman to apprise it on whether there were similar complaints filed by her against others, as argued by public prosecutor Atul Kumar Shrivastava.

Advocate Shahid Anwar, appearing for the woman, told the court that he needed time to verify this fact from his client.

The court directed the counsel to file the response after discussing with the woman and posted the matter for further hearing on May 18.

Meanwhile, Special Judge Hemani Malhotra extended till May 26 the judicial custody of the woman, arrested on Patel's complaint that he was honey-trapped and blackmailed by her.

During the arguments before the magisterial court, the woman's counsel claimed that the MP's complaint was false.

"He (Patel) claimed that he was honey trapped on March 28 and two days later my client demanded money. But he had filed the complaint in this regard after a month. However, the FIR says there was no delay in filing the complaint," the woman's counsel said.

He also alleged that the MP had filed the FIR after he got to know that the court has sought an ATR on her complaint alleging rape.

The court had last month sought an ATR from the SHO of North Avenue Police Station here on the allegations of rape by the woman lawyer against the MP.

She had approached the court alleging that the police did not cooperate and refused to lodge an FIR on her complaint.

She had alleged that she was raped by the politician several times at his official residence and other places and added that the MP had threatened her of dire consequences if she did not maintain silence.

However, the woman was arrested by the Delhi Police on May 2 on the MP's complaint that the woman had honey-trapped him and demanded Rs five crore. He had alleged that he was drugged and obscene videos and photos were shot by the woman who had threatened him to file a rape case.

Patel had alleged that the woman had invited him to a place in Ghaziabad for some work where she offered him a soft drink which was laced with sedatives, police said.