Kirti Patel was arrested by the Gujarat Police after being on the run for 10 months. The popular Instagram influencer with 1.3 million followers is accused of honeytrapping a builder and demanding ₹2 crore as ransom.
An FIR was filed in June 2024 against Kirti and four others. While four had already been arrested, Kirti remained missing. Deputy Commissioner of Police Alok Kumar confirmed that Patel had been caught based on a court-issued warrant and presented before the court.
The alleged honeytrap case has drawn widespread attention due to Kirti’s social media fame. According to police, the investigation is still ongoing.
“In June 2024, an FIR was registered for honey-trapping, and 5 accused were there, 4 were arrested while Kirti Patel was on the run for the last 10 months. We had arrested her based on the warrant issued by the court and produced her before the court. She has demanded a ransom of 2 crores from a builder,” Kumar told ANI.
What is honeytrapping?
Honeytrapping is a method where someone, often using charm or romance, tricks another person. The victim gets into a situation that can later be used to trap, blackmail or cheat them. They are usually forced to give money, information or some other benefit.
In many honeytrap cases, a person is made to believe they are in a romantic relationship. But, later they are threatened with photos, videos or false complaints unless they pay money or do what the trapper says.
How Kirti Patel was arrested
Kirti Patel kept changing cities across Gujarat, SIM cards and IP addresses for 10 months to avoid arrest. Interestingly, she regularly posted on Instagram during this time. Last week, she posted a Reel to promote an online casino. The video gained over 6 lakh views.
In February, she posted multiple videos of her visit to Mahakumbh 2025. She is a Shree Krishna devotee who regularly posts videos with His idols.
The Surat Police, with help from cyber experts and the Ahmedabad Police, tracked her to Sarkhej, Ahmedabad. They even worked with Instagram to find her exact location.
“In these 10 months, her location kept changing constantly, in different parts of Gujarat. The IP address kept changing, as did her phone numbers and SIM cards. We also coordinated with Instagram to get her location,” NDTV quoted Kumar as saying.
Patel is also facing other complaints, including land grabbing and more extortion cases. Police will now record her statements in these cases and continue their investigation.
