Avinash Prajapati (also referred to as Avinash Paliwal), a former mechanical engineer and contractor, and his second wife, Chandrika Paliwal, maintained a lavish social media persona on Instagram while operating a series of fraudulent business schemes across Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Chandigarh. After their construction companies failed and an investment scam under 'Shri Dhanlaxmi Trading Company' led to their arrest in Jhansi in April 2023, the couple met incarcerated political figure Mirchi Baba in Bhopal jail. Following their release, Chandrika allegedly masterminded a honeytrap and extortion scheme. Avinash created a dedicated Instagram profile ('The Boss Avinash') to target wealthy single women and widows. Avinash lured a widowed bank clerk in Bhopal, drugged and sexually assaulted her while Chandrika filmed the act using hidden cameras. The couple then extorted 40 lakh rupees in cash and 5 lakh rupees in jewelry from the victim under threat of publishing the videos. After the victim reported the crime, Bhopal Police arrested Avinash in September 2025, while Chandrika fled with their six-year-old son and remains at large.
Country: India
State/Province: Madhya Pradesh, India
City/Region: Bhopal
Incident Type: Rape
Relationship Status: Married
Relationship Duration: Approximately 6 years
Incident Date: April 24, 2023
Relationship Origins:
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How the relationship or connection began.
Approximately 6 years
Important relationship phases recorded for this case.
Reported red flags or early concern points.
Contributing factors and possible motives from the available sources.
2023-04-24
Recorded relationship or case outcome.
English labels are shown first. Original-language titles are preserved for source verification.
Crime Tak - India · Original language: Hindi
Extortion Fraud / Honeytrap
The couple utilized social media to curate a wealthy and attractive persona to gain trust and exploit vulnerable targets. Following business losses, they pivoted from financial investment fraud to targeting single women and widows through emotional manipulation and romantic deception. Once trust was established, the offender drugged and sexually assaulted victims while recording the acts to extort significant sums of money under threat of exposure.
Police across three states (Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Chandigarh) registered over two dozen cases against Avinash Prajapati and Chandrika Paliwal. Initial arrests occurred in Jhansi on April 24, 2023, for investment fraud under 'Shri Dhanlaxmi Trading Company'. Following release, the couple relocated to Bhopal and executed sexual assault and extortion schemes targeting widows. In September 2025, Bhopal Police arrested Avinash Prajapati, but Chandrika Paliwal fled with their six-year-old son and remains a fugitive.
Despite maintaining public social media profiles on Instagram, the suspects successfully moved between multiple states to evade authorities for an extended period. During the assault of the bank clerk, Chandrika disguised herself as an elderly mother to misdirect the victim before the victim was drugged.
Avinash Prajapati initially operated legitimate contracting and construction businesses before financial decline led him and Chandrika to establish fraudulent financial schemes. After serving prison time in Bhopal, where they networked with politically connected inmates, they devised a systematic honeytrap operation. Avinash cultivated an Instagram following to attract single women, while Chandrika vetted targets' finances. Upon seducing, drugging, and assaulting a victim, they recorded the act to enforce extortion.
The perpetrators demonstrated a high level of calculated deception, criminal adaptability, and disregard for victims' safety and dignity. Chandrika Paliwal's active role as a co-conspirator and mastermind, along with her current status as a fugitive with a child, indicates an ongoing operational risk and potential for further evasion or fraud.
Online lifestyle displays and rapid-return financial schemes often mask underlying insolvency or criminal activity. Perpetrators of romantic deception frequently exploit recent loss, single status, or financial vulnerability to bypass typical trust boundaries.
Exaggerated displays of luxury on social media despite declining construction revenues, alongside promises of doubling investments within 20 days through unregulated trading entities.
Financial transactions made by the victim, social media activity on 'The Boss Avinash' profile, and hidden camera footage retained for extortion purposes.
Instagram profiles, visiting cards for Shri Dhanlaxmi Trading Company, victim financial records showing a transfer of 40 lakh rupees and jewelry, and formal police complaints filed across multiple jurisdictions.
Not reported.
Initial law enforcement focus was centered on financial fraud and embezzlement in Jhansi and Bhopal; subsequent victim reports revealed serial sexual assault, drugging, and high-value extortion.
The exact whereabouts of fugitive Chandrika Paliwal and her six-year-old child remain unknown, as does the full count of victims who may have been extorted without reporting to law enforcement.