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BAREILLY : Two girls were arrested on Friday for filing false rape charges against a 25-year-old youth in an attempt to extort Rs 2 lakh from him. Police said that it could just be the tip of an iceberg, as preliminary investigations have revealed that the girls could be part of a bigger racket to trap men in order to extract money. The accused, Neha Gupta (24) and Safia (22), were sent to jail later in the day.

“There were discrepancies in their complaint. On questioning, the girls confessed that it was a fake case. We booked them under sections 420 (cheating) and 389 (putting person in fear of accusation),” said Dharmendra Kumar , station house officer (SHO) of Prem Nagar police station.

He also said that the youth, Sunil Sharma , was called to the police station and interrogated soon after a complaint was lodged by the girls. “Meanwhile, constable Sunita Singh , recognised one of the accused and informed us about her previous criminal records,” added SHO Kumar.

“They confessed to have registered similar complaints against several men in the past. The girls had also trapped a station master and took Rs 1 lakh from him,” Kumar said.

“Since March 1, the girls have been calling me continuously in a bid to extend friendship. I have no idea from where they got my phone number. They arrived at my house in Janakpuri and began demanding money from me. When I refused, they started threatening me,” said Sharma, a native of Gopalpur Nagariya village under the Bithri Chainpur police station.

Superintendent of police (city), Rohit Singh Sajwan, said similar incidents have been reported in the past from places such as Baradari, Subhashnagar, Premnagar and Kotwali. “It is likely that the accused girls are involved with a bigger gang. We are investigating into the matter,” he said.