“The allegations are being investigated, and further legal action will be taken on the basis of evidence.” That was the statement from local police officer Sudhir Panwar after an Instagram influencer with more than one lakh followers was named in an FIR in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh.
The influencer is identified as Arisha. Two men, Anas and Shoaib, are named with her. The complaint accuses them of honey-trapping a man, getting hold of his private photographs and videos, and threatening to make them public unless he paid.
Mohammad Shahrukh, who lives in Chaudhary Sarai in Sambhal, filed the complaint. He told police he met Arisha around three years ago on a trip to Nainital. They knew each other from Instagram and met in person at the hill station, where both were travelling with companions. The friendship became a relationship, he said.
Money came into it later. According to the FIR, the accused took Rs 55,000 from him under threat of circulating the material. Shahrukh says that on July 1, 2023, the two sides signed a settlement on stamp paper in which Arisha admitted that her earlier allegations against him were false. The demands began again anyway.
The latest one was for Rs 2 lakh, and it was the point at which he went to the police. He claims he had already paid nearly Rs 4 lakh over time, and he gave officers screenshots of transactions and conversations.
Since the FIR was registered, Shahrukh alleges, he has received fresh threats and abusive messages, and posts about him have appeared on social media. He also described the three as part of a larger racket that targets men and relies on their fear of embarrassment. Police have not independently verified those claims.
Officers say they are trying to trace Arisha, Anas and Shoaib, and that the part each played will be examined before any further legal action.
