HARIPUR: Two men allegedly assaulted a young man and deprived him of cash and valuables after luring him to see his girlfriend in the urban limits of the district, police said here on Saturday.

“The accused skillfully used voice-changing app on their mobile and trapped the man,” disclosed Abbas Khan, the investigating officer of the case, adding that he was close to tracing the accused as he had arrested a couple of suspects having connections with this particular criminal activity of honey-trapping.

The victim, 21, resident of Nagri Bala village in Galiyat region of Abbottabad, told the city police that he had developed friendship with a girl through a phone call only 15 days back. He further said the girl told him that she was the resident of a locality near the Government Higher Secondary School for Boys No. 2. The girl, whom the complainant had never met before, invited him to see her near the ‘sarkari bagh’ area, he added.

“When I reached the meeting point she asked me to walk further towards the nearby orchard,” he told the police, adding that when he was walking towards the suggested point, three unknown men suddenly appeared and held him at gun point before taking him to the orchard.

The accused allegedly kicked and punched him mercilessly and undressed him before sexually assaulting him one after the other, while they also made the video of the criminal act on mobile phone, the victim said.

The accused also snatched his mobile phone, Rs30,000 cash, some gifts valued at around Rs10,000 that he had brought for his girlfriend, and made off, threatening to release the video on social media if he disclosed the incident. The city police have registered a criminal case against three accused under sections 375 A and 355 PPC and started investigation.

When approached for comments, SHO city Rizwan Khan confirmed that the complainant wastrappedintovisiting hisgirlfriend. He told Dawn that thepreliminary medical examination of the victim had proved sexual assault, but the things would further unravel upon receipt of FSL report from the laboratory.

He said that it was the first of its kind honey trap case reported in the city, but he expressed optimism that the police would be successful intracing the accused at the earliest.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2025