2019 scandal-accused Shweta Jain held again in honeytrap-linked extortion case

Indore: Almost seven years after the sensational 2019 honeytrap scandal rocked Madhya Pradesh politics and bureaucracy, one of its key accused, Shweta Jain, has once again landed in police custody in connection with an alleged extortion racket targeting a liquor businessman in Indore.

The Crime Branch has detained Shweta Jain along with alleged liquor smuggler Alka Dixit, her son Jaydeep, property dealer Lakhan Choudhary and Intelligence Branch head constable Vinod Sharma for allegedly blackmailing businessman Hitrendra Singh Chauhan using private photographs and videos.

Additional Commissioner Mayank Awasthi said all five accused were produced before a court on Tuesday and taken on remand for seven days. “We are in the process of questioning the accused. The call records of Alka have shown that she was in touch with Shweta Jain of Bhopal. Prima facie it looks like they conspired to extort money from the victim. Further interrogations are on,” Awasthi said.

According to DCP (Crime) Rajesh Tripathi, the complainant, 45-year-old Hitrendra Singh Chauhan from Banganga area, told police that he was acquainted with Alka Dixit, who already has several criminal cases registered against her, including those linked to illegal liquor smuggling.

Police said Alka later introduced Chauhan to Lakhan Choudhary, a resident of Khandwa district, who claimed to be a major investor and offered him a partnership in property ventures across Dewas, Dhar and Khandwa. Chauhan alleged that after he declined the proposal, the accused began mounting pressure on him.

In his complaint, Chauhan stated that Lakhan later threatened to leak his private photographs and videos if he refused to hand over a 50 per cent stake in his business. He further alleged that about 20 days ago, when he was at the Super Corridor for work, Alka, Jaydeep and Lakhan confronted and assaulted him. The trio allegedly threatened to kill him and demanded Rs 1 crore, warning that they would ruin his reputation.

Acting on the complaint, senior police officers launched a covert operation in the early hours of May 18. Seven teams comprising nearly 40 policemen carried out simultaneous raids in Dwarkapuri and Pithampur.

Jaydeep was detained from a house in Dwarkapuri around 3.30 am, while Alka was later traced to an under-construction building and taken into custody. Another team detained Lakhan Choudhary from Pithampur. Shweta Jain was subsequently picked up from Minal Residency in Bhopal and brought to Indore for questioning.

During the probe, investigators also uncovered the alleged involvement of Intelligence Branch head constable Vinod Sharma. Police sources said Sharma was in regular contact with Alka and chats recovered during the investigation revealed that private photographs and videos of the businessman had been shared with him.

Police later detained Sharma from his government residence in Rajendra Nagar and seized his mobile phone and laptop. Sharma had earlier served in the Crime Branch as well as Chandan Nagar and Annapurna police stations before being posted at the Intelligence Branch.

Police records show that Alka Dixit has more than 17 criminal cases registered against her. Investigators suspect she expanded from liquor smuggling into drug trafficking and was allegedly part of a larger honeytrap and extortion network. Police said interrogation of all accused is underway and more revelations are expected in the coming days.

The 2019 honeytrap case had triggered a major political firestorm in Madhya Pradesh after a group of women allegedly targeted politicians, senior bureaucrats and businessmen by befriending them, secretly recording objectionable videos and later using the material for blackmail and extortion.

The racket came to light after Indore Municipal Corporation engineer Harbhajan Singh filed a complaint alleging that he was being blackmailed with intimate videos and was forced to pay large sums of money. The probe later widened across Madhya Pradesh and involved multiple agencies, with investigators recovering hundreds of video clips, mobile phones and electronic devices.

Shweta Jain had emerged as one of the key accused in the case and was arrested along with several others during the investigation.