Honey Trap Case Unraveled: Former CM Kamal Nath Under Scrutiny as Lawyer Claims Lack of Support

In the District Court of Indore, a hearing regarding the infamous honey trap case took place on Monday. At 1:40 PM, government lawyers and police officials arrived at the court. Due to the prior engagement of the new SIT chief Adarsh Katiyar in training at Coimbatore, no response could be presented regarding the statement made by former CM Kamal Nath’s pen drive. The next hearing is scheduled for February 10th.

Government lawyer Abhijeet Singh Rathore stated that former Chief Minister Kamal Nath is not supporting the case. Additionally, since IPS chief Katiyar has taken charge just eight days ago, detailed guidance will be sought from him regarding Kamal Nath’s involvement.

In fact, on May 21, 2021, former CM Kamal Nath stated during a press conference that he possesses the CD and pen drive related to the honey trap case. Expressing dissatisfaction with this in court, one of the accused questioned where he obtained the pen drive and CD, demanding clarification.

To seize both items from Kamal Nath, the SIT had issued a notice. Subsequently, Kamal Nath clarified that he had only watched a 29-second clip. However, in November 2023, the SIT responded, stating that SIT Chief Vipin Maheshwari had retired. A response was pending until the appointment of the new chief, which has currently been postponed.

Police Respond to Two Out of Three Applications

In two of the cases, the police provided responses to the applications submitted. In the second application, the police were also required to respond. The accused, Rupa Ahirwal, had filed an application requesting the return of her mobile phone. Abhijeet Singh Rathore, the lawyer representing the SIT, explained that Rupa’s mobile phone is electronic evidence and cannot be returned.

Research May Take Additional Time

Another application from the accused side requested an extension of one month to complete the investigation. It was emphasized that the investigation should proceed in accordance with government regulations.

Eight Accused, Including Six Women, in the Honey Trap Case

On September 17, 2019, the honey trap case came to light. Several young women allegedly blackmailed Harbhajan Singh, the then Chief Engineer of the Indore Municipal Corporation, using obscene videos as leverage. A demand of three crore rupees was made, leading to a complaint filed at the Palasia Police Station.

The police implicated eight individuals, including six women, in the case. Aarti Dayal, Monica Yadav, Shweta Jain (wife of Vijay Jain), Shweta Jain (wife of Swapnil Jain), and Barkha Soni were arrested and sent to jail following court orders. Additionally, the car driver Omprakash Kori was also arrested. Later, all were granted bail. Abhishek Thakur and Rupa are also accused in this case.

Changes in SIT Chief Following the New Government

In December 2023, when Mohan Yadav assumed office as the new Chief Minister, he entrusted Adarsh Katiyar with the responsibility of heading the SIT. Katiyar was also appointed as the in-charge of the Indore division. It is said that Katiyar has meticulously conducted a comprehensive study of the entire case diary from scratch to determine each individual’s role. This move is perceived as an intentional effort to discern and potentially shield certain individuals knowingly involved in the case.

Revealing Names of Senior Bureaucrats and Politicians

Despite the emergence of video clips involving senior bureaucrats and politicians, the SIT refrained from disclosing any names in this case. The former SIT chief admitted that apart from the highest-paid IAS and IPS officers, several leaders from both the BJP and Congress were closely associated with the accused women. However, their names were not mentioned in the documents. Audio-video recordings of a former minister from the BJP government and a senior IAS officer close to the Chief Minister had also surfaced in the media.

Chief Minister Personally Overseeing the Investigation into the Honey Trap Case

During the tenure of the Congress-led Kamal Nath government, when the honey trap scandal was unveiled in September 2019, S.R. Mohanti was the Chief Secretary. The entire case underwent high-level monitoring. This is why, following the FIR for blackmailing in Indore, which was considered organized crime, ATS was assigned the responsibility of raiding the accused’s houses in Bhopal.

At that time, police officers from ATS were the ones who arrested the accused women and conducted searches of their homes. During these raids, hard disks and various electronic gadgets were seized, some of which contained incriminating videos.