Madhya Pradesh honey-trap case: Cameras in lipstick, goggles used to film victims
Bhopal: The honey-trap and blackmailing racket busted mid-September in Indore and Bhopal saw the ingenious use of spy cameras in lipsticks and goggles, along with the mundane mobile phone, as the accused went about filming their victims, police sources said on Sunday.
Five women and a man were arrested in Indore and Bhopal on September 18-19 for allegedly running the racket, after a Indore Municipal Corporation engineer approached police claiming he was being blackmailed to the tune of Rs 3 crore over objectionable video clips by the accused.
Police had identified the accused as Aarti Dayal (29), Monika Yadav (18), Shweta Vijay Jain (39), Shweta Swapnil Jain (48), Barkha Soni (34) and Omprakash Kori (45).
Indore Senior Superintendent of Police Ruchi Vardhan Misra had told the media after the arrests that spy cameras had been seized from the accused, though she did not go into details of the gadgets' sophistication.
Neither Misra nor Indore Crime Branch Additional Superintendent of Police Amarendra Singh, both part of the Special Investigation Team probing the case, were available for comment on this aspect despite repeated calls on Sunday.
Several video clips of people in compromising positions, purportedly from the high-profile racket, have flooded social media, though several of them appear to be morphed as well.
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TN govt reaffirms 21-yr age limit for liquor sales
Chennai (PTI): Seeking to curb rising alcohol consumption among minors in the state, the Tamil Nadu government has reinforced the legal age requirement of 21 for all liquor purchases and consumption.
The government has also ordered the closure of 717 liquor outlets across the state and warned of strict action against those who violate the new directives.
The state-owned Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), the agency which holds a monopoly on sales of liquor, will be shutting 276 outlets near places of worship, 186 near educational institutions and 255 outlets near bus stations.
A senior TASMAC official on Thursday said that the staff at liquor shops have been instructed to check identity proof, including Aadhaar card, for all customers whose age is in question.
The official also said that the state government is considering a reduction in operational hours.
Currently, the liquor shops across the state operate from 12 noon to 10 pm.
"They are weighing a proposal to move the closing time to 8 pm," he added.
At present, the TASMAC operates a total of 4,765 liquor shops across the state. After the closure of 717 shops, it would come down to 4,048 outlets.
In 2025, the revenue from liquor sales stood at Rs 48,344 crore, which is the second highest after the registration department.
