India: Overbearing boss honeytrapped by disgruntled employees who leak his nudes

A boss became a honeytrap victim in the western Indian city of Vadodara in Gujarat after his employees lured him into sending his nude photos which were later circulated to his known people, including his wife as well as company HR.

The victim, Samir Gupta (name changed for anonymity purposes) was targeted by Preeti and Anish (names changed), according to the police. Preeti had quit her job as she could not stand Gupta's overbearing attitude.

Together, the duo furnished a plan to honeytrap Gupta and created a fake Instagram account. Pretending to be a woman, the duo established connection with Gupta and soon engaged in sexually explicit conversations.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

"Preeti came up with the idea of teaching him a lesson and making his life miserable. She and Anish then made a fake Instagram account of a woman and started chatting with Gupta four months ago," the police said.

After winning Gupta's trust by sendingsome nude photos downloaded from a website, they managed to lure him into sending his nude photos. Once they received the photos, Gupta was blocked, leaving him bewildered.

Watch | Study: Financial fraud top cybercrime in India

The blackmailing

Days later, they crafted a mail with Gupta's nudes and explicit chat with the fake woman and sent it to him. A panicked Gupta realised he had been honeytrapped but refused to inform anyone.

In September, the duo escalated their plan by sending the nudes and the chats to the HR department of the company as well as Gupta's official email ID. Afterwards, they sent printed copy of the photos to Gupta's wife at her workplace.

The accused took things a notch further when they started stalking Gupta and sent him photos of his visit to a shopping mall in November.

After three months of relentless blackmailing, Gupta, at his wit's end, approached the Cyber Crime police and complained last week. The police sprang into action quickly and tracked down the duo who alleged that Gupta had a penchant for reprimanding and ridiculing them for professional reasons.

Hardik Makadia, ACP (cybercrime), Vadodara said notices under CrPC 41 (A) were issued to the accused for recording their statements but the complainant is not keen to pursue the case further.

(With inputs from agencies)