Palakkad: Police have revealed that the couple arrested in the Palakkad honey trap case were paid commission as agents.
The case pertains to the kidnapping of an owner of a financial firm from Irinjalakuda and robbing him of all his money, jewellery, car, and ATM cards.
Police have arrested six accused, including Kollam Perunad native Devu, 24, and her husband Valiyannur Gokul Dev, 29, from Mele Chovva in Kannur, in the case.
The couple Devu and Gokul were popular on social media as the 'Phoenix Couple'.
The couple, who enjoyed a huge following doing Instagram reels – videos – have many followers. As they were in deep debt owing to their luxurious lifestyle, they resorted to ‘honey trap’ wealthy people for money, police said.
According to the couple’s statement to the police, once the victim is ‘taken’ to a safe place, they would get Rs 40,000 as commission.
Police have also arrested Pala Ramapuram native Sharath, 24, Iringalakkuda natives Vinay, 24, Kakkeri Jishnu, 20 and Ajith, 20.
Police said Sharath was the kingpin of the operation. The gang followed the owner of the financial firm in Iringalakkuda for six months. One of the accused had stayed on the top floor of the complainant’s house during the floods. The trap was laid after confirming that he was vulnerable and would fall into the 'trap'.
Sharath created a profile in a woman’s name and got close to the complainant through social media, thereby setting the ground for fraud. Later, they asked Devu to call and bring him to Yakkara in Palakkad.
The complainant was told that her husband was abroad and that her mother was hospitalised.
The man reached Palakkad on July 28. First, they met at Olavakkod. By night, they moved to a rented house in Yakkara.
There, the gang, including Sharath, pretended to physically assault Devu in the name of moral policing. Later, the gang took the complainant’s 4 sovereign gold chains, mobile phone, Rs 1,000 in cash, and ATM cards. He was blindfolded and taken in a car to Kodungalloor.
Before reaching Kodungalloor, the complainant asked them to stop the car to answer nature's call. When the accused stopped the car, he ran out and escaped. The gang fled from the spot when local people started noticing their movements.
The duped man decided to complain to the police when the gang called his wife seeking to strike a ‘compromise’, an officer said.
