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Bengaluru entrepreneur alleges honeytrap by Instagram influencer, lodges complaint
Complainant claimed his private content was shared with his wife.
The Bengaluru police have summoned the complainant’s wife to verify claims regarding the alleged circulation of private material. (Representative Image)
A Bengaluru-based entrepreneur filed a complaint against an Instagram influencer, accusing her of honey-trapping and blackmailing him, at the Jayanagar police station last week.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) registered on April 13, the complainant, Karthik Putha, 31, the owner of a permanent make-up clinic, claimed he contacted the accused, Sadhana Shetty, an Instagram influencer, in August 2024 after she approached him for promotional work. The two later met at a café and developed a relationship.
Meanwhile, the police said they summoned Shetty for questioning, wherein she admitted to being in a relationship with the complainant but denied recording any private content, as well as the allegations of extortion.
Putha has alleged that during the course of the relationship, Shetty secretly recorded private conversations, photographs, and videos without his consent and later used the material to threaten him, demanding Rs 1.5 crore in exchange for not sharing it with his wife, family, and acquaintances. He stated that fearing reputational damage, he paid around Rs 10 lakh through online transfers and cash, and also handed over valuables, including gold ornaments and an iPhone.
He further claimed that when he failed to meet the larger demand, some of the private content was sent to his wife in Hyderabad via WhatsApp, causing domestic distress. Putha also alleged that the material may have been stored on multiple devices and possibly shared with others.
Speaking about the investigation, a police officer said, “At this stage, we are verifying the financial exchanges between the two. Both sides have made conflicting claims, and the investigation is ongoing.”
As part of the probe, the police have summoned the complainant’s wife to verify claims regarding the alleged circulation of private material.
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A case has been registered under Sections 66(E) and 67 of the Information Technology Act, along with Section 308(2) (extortion) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
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