Bhopal prostitution racket busted, 15 arrested
An inter-state prostitution racket was busted in the Madhya Pradesh capital with the arrest of 15 people, including six girls, in the past two days, police said in Bhopal on Saturday.
An inter-state prostitution racket was busted in the Madhya Pradesh capital with the arrest of 15 people, including six girls, in the past two days, police said in Bhopal on Saturday.
"We have arrested 15 people, including six girls, in the last two days," TT Nagar police station chief Umesh Tiwari said, adding that two of the girls are from Pune and Nagpur in Maharashtra. The girl from Pune told the police that she had been a bar girl and came here to make quick money, he added.
One of the accused, identified as Pritam Singh, was arrested with a girl at a guest house in TT Nagar area Thursday following a tip-off, Tiwari said, adding that more arrests were made subsequently. Some more arrests may take place soon in the case.
Apart from the young women and their alleged customers, a number of pimps have also been taken into custody from various posh areas of the state capital, he said.
Naresh Kushwaha, who allegedly ran the racket along with his wife Varsha, supplied girls through pimps, police said, adding that he has been booked under relevant sections of the Prohibition of Immoral Trafficking Act. Naresh is absconding and efforts are on to nab him, Tiwari said.
The women were brought from cities like Mumbai, Nagpur and Nasik in Mahrashtra, Jhansi and Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, and Kolkata. A woman identified as Seema, an associate of the Kushwaha couple, normally kept them in her house, which had all facilities.
The half a dozen pimps working for Kushwaha would arrange bookings for amounts ranging from Rs 1500 to Rs 2000 per person for every visit. The sum was evenly distributed among the members of the racket, officials added.