BASTI: A 56-year-old police station officer in Basti allegedly died by suicide after being trapped in a honeytrap and subjected to blackmail, with police claiming that a woman and her associates had demanded Rs 1 crore from him.Police on Sunday arrested the woman, her father and a lawyer in connection with the case and sent all three to judicial custody.The deceased, Suryaprakash Singh, was the station officer of Walterganj police station. Originally from Bhilampur Chhapra village in Azamgarh, Singh had about four years left before retirement. He is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters.Singh had been transferred to Basti from Siddharthnagar and was initially posted to the police lines. He took charge as Walterganj SO on April 18, 2026.On August 29, Singh was found hanging at his government accommodation near the district collectorate.Before his death, he had reportedly posted a WhatsApp status on his personal mobile number that read: “Wealth and property are necessary, but nothing is greater than peace and love.”According to DIG Sanjeev Tyagi, police arrested Priyanka Chaudhary, 32, her father Ramnayan Chaudhary, and lawyer Vijay Prakash from outside Sadar Hospital on Sunday.Police said the arrests followed questioning of Singh’s family members, surveillance and analysis of call detail records (CDRs), which indicated that Singh had been in contact with the three accused.Investigators claim that Vijay Prakash was involved in collecting the money allegedly extorted through blackmail. Police have recovered a Bolero vehicle and three mobile phones from the accused.Police said Priyanka, a resident of Gandhar in the Walterganj area, had been living separately from her husband for around 10 years. She had reportedly worked at beauty parlours and spa centres in Mumbai.According to investigators, Priyanka allegedly developed relationships with financially well-off men and subsequently recorded their audio, video calls and private conversations.She would then allegedly use the material to threaten and blackmail them for money.Police further claimed that she used WhatsApp chats and video calls to maintain contact with her targets.Investigators said Priyanka would at times allegedly threaten or intimidate victims by making video calls showing herself apparently cutting her wrist, creating fear that she might harm herself if her demands were not met.According to police, her father Ramnayan and lawyer Vijay Prakash allegedly assisted her in collecting the money. Investigators suspect that the proceeds of the alleged extortion were shared among the three.During the investigation, police reportedly found that the accused had allegedly collected around Rs 24 lakh from three other individuals. One of the reported victims is a doctor.Police suspect that Singh was another target of the alleged extortion network and are now investigating whether additional people were targeted or blackmailed by the accused.Police said Priyanka lived within the jurisdiction of Walterganj police station and had approached Singh in connection with a case she had filed against her husband.During their interactions over the case, the two reportedly became acquainted and subsequently developed a close relationship. Police allege that Priyanka later began blackmailing Singh.Investigators said that on August 29, the day Singh died, lawyer Vijay Prakash spoke to him over the phone at around 1:41 pm and allegedly demanded Rs 1 crore.According to the police version, Singh was unable to arrange the demanded amount and died by suicide before making the payment.The investigation is continuing to establish the complete sequence of events, the alleged financial transactions and the involvement of the three accused in the suspected blackmail operation.Singh’s son Sandeep Singh has demanded strict punishment for those responsible for his father’s death.
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