An elaborate and highly organized gang of eight individuals has been exposed in Rawalpindi, accused of running a sophisticated honey trap operation that involved extorting large sums of money from innocent citizens through false accusations and manipulated legal proceedings. This gang was not composed merely of con artists but allegedly included sitting police officers, a government prosecutor, a former police constable, and individuals posing as lawyers.
Their criminal enterprise involved trapping victims using women, fabricating legal cases, and leveraging their connections within law enforcement and the judiciary to pressure targets into financial settlements. The scandal surfaced when Assistant Sub-Inspector Ehsanullah lodged a complaint at the Airport Police Station, prompting a case to be registered under numerous sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act 2021, and the Police Order 2002.
According to the FIR, key accused such as Nosherwan alias Niazi, Afzal Bukhari alias Zil Shah, Raja Qaiser Mahmood, and others orchestrated a network that used various girls to lure victims and then register false rape or misconduct cases. The women would appear as plaintiffs using forged identity cards, which included altered photographs and names. After DNA tests and fabricated medical examinations, they would demand money to withdraw the cases or reach settlements. One major revelation came when DNA samples from two separate cases filed in different districts—Rawalpindi and Attock—matched, revealing that the same girl was appearing under different names. This discovery by the Punjab Forensic Science Agency indicated systematic fraud involving multiple fabricated identities.
Investigations uncovered that members of the gang, including Sub-Inspector Azhar Iqbal Gondal and government prosecutor Nadeem Sultani, were actively assisting in the facilitation of these scams within police stations and courts. The gang also registered cases in multiple districts including Sheikhupura, Sadiqabad, Gujar Khan, and Wah, accumulating a trail of false allegations and extorted settlements. Arrests made in connection with a case in Jhelum further exposed the structure of this criminal ring, as the absence of fake plaintiffs in court led investigators to the real women behind the fraudulent identities.
The inquiry concluded that the gang, through mutual planning and deliberate manipulation of legal processes, misused women for blackmail, faked legal claims, and committed numerous criminal acts including fraud, identity tampering, and filing of false reports. The accused are alleged to have consistently abused the legal system to intimidate and deceive, all while maintaining support from within the system they manipulated. This case highlights a deeply troubling breach of trust within law enforcement and the legal community, and the full impact of the gang’s actions continues to unfold.
