Bareilly: In a sensational case of fraud and criminal conspiracy, the Bareilly police have arrested a 43-year-old woman who allegedly fabricated an elaborate story of abduction, gangrape, and attempted murder — going as far as having a bullet surgically implanted into her shoulder by a local quack — to falsely implicate residents of her locality and extort money from them.
The woman, whose identity has not been disclosed by the police, was taken into custody along with two of her accomplices: a 50-year-old unlicensed medical practitioner, identified as Sharafat Khan, who allegedly carried out the bullet implantation, and her 48-year-old associate Rohtas, a ward boy employed at a government hospital in Bareilly, who is believed to have played a key role in orchestrating the hoax.
All three were produced before the court, which ordered their judicial custody, according to Manush Pareek, Superintendent of Police, Bareilly.
The trio has been booked under various charges, including extortion, cheating, and criminal conspiracy. Additionally, the police are moving to invoke provisions of the Arms Act against them, as the bullet used in the fake shooting was procured and handled illegally.
A Chilling Plan to Frame Locals
According to investigators, the woman had meticulously plotted to frame certain residents, including a public representative, in a fabricated case of abduction, sexual assault, and attempted murder.
The ultimate goal, the police say, was to pressure the falsely accused into paying large sums of money in exchange for having the case dropped or to ruin their reputation.
Officers revealed that the woman’s scheme involved physically implanting a bullet under her ski to make her claims appear credible.
She first approached three licensed medical practitioners in Bareilly, requesting them to surgically place the bullet inside her body and thus lend physical evidence to her false narrative. All three doctors, alarmed by the strange and suspicious request, categorically refused.
Undeterred, she then contacted Sharafat Khan, a self-proclaimed healer with no formal medical training, who allegedly agreed to perform the risky procedure for a fee of ₹2,500.
The woman’s associate, Rohtas, who was reportedly an integral part of the plot from the beginning, had helped procure the bullet that was later embedded into her shoulder by the quack.
The Fake Crime Scene and Police Intervention
The carefully staged drama began to unravel on March 29, when the police received an emergency report that a woman had been found injured with a gunshot wound.
Acting swiftly, a police team rushed to the location and arranged to have her transported to the hospital for medical attention.
At the hospital, the woman told police a harrowing story, claiming she had been abducted by five unidentified men while on her way to a nearby medical store.
According to her account, the assailants had sexually assaulted her inside a car, shot her in the shoulder, and then dumped her on the roadside before fleeing the scene.
However, as investigators began probing her statement, glaring inconsistencies emerged. Call detail records revealed that the woman had been using her phone continuously at the time she claimed to have been abducted — a scenario deemed unlikely given the serious nature of the alleged crime.
Furthermore, CCTV footage from the area contradicted her claims: it reportedly showed the woman walking to the spot alone, rather than being forcibly brought there.
Medical Report Raises Red Flags
An even more striking twist came when doctors examined her injury. Contrary to the typical signs of a gunshot wound, the medical report showed no clear entry wound or tissue damage consistent with a bullet having been fired into her body. Instead, the bullet appeared to have been surgically placed under the skin, raising strong suspicions of foul play.
When confronted with this evidence, the woman’s account began to crumble. Further background checks revealed that this was not the first time she had fabricated such serious allegations.
In 2022, she filed a remarkably similar case, also alleging abduction, gang, and even claiming she had been shot at during that incident as well. Investigators are now re-examining that earlier case, suspecting it might have been part of a recurring pattern of false accusations designed to extort money.
A Plot Unravelled
Commenting on the case, SP Manush Pareek said the investigation exposed a shocking level of planning and manipulation.
“The accused created an entire false crime scene to give her story credibility. Thanks to the timely investigation, we were able to uncover the truth and prevent innocent people from being framed.”
Police are now investigating whether the woman was involved in similar scams in the past and whether other accomplices are linked to the operation.
The case has also raised concerns about the easy availability of unlicensed medical practitioners willing to carry out illegal procedures for money