Sex racket busted in Shimla

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 22

In a major breakthrough, Shimla police today busted an inter-state sex racket and arrested 10 persons, including kingpin of the gang, five women and a hotel manager. The police conducted the raid following a tip-off.

A police team led by ASP Bhajan Dev Negi called up the number given in website for escort services as “decoy customer” and started negotiations with two pimps. “One of the pimps agreed to provide the girls in Shimla. The police booked two hotels but by evening the pimp got suspicious and the deal was cancelled”, Negi said.

However, the second person responded and after being ensured that the customers were genuine and demanded Rs 15,000 for two girls. After negotiations, the deal was finalised for Rs 13,000 and he arrived in late last night to deliver the girls on road.

The police caught hold of the girls and the pimp. During preliminary questioning, the girls reportedly disclosed that three girls had been delivered in a hotel near Tara hall. Following the tip off, the police raided the hotel and arrested three girls, three customers and the manager of the hotel and also recovered cash amounting Rs 76,000.

The five girls arrested during the raid hailed from Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Punjab while out of the three customers, two hailed from Mumbai and one from Nepal. The kingpin of the gang, allegedly supplying girls, was identified as Deepak Saini, alias Kunal, and is from Punjab, the police said.

All accused in the 19-23 age group have been booked under sections 4, 5 and 7 of Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1956 for living on the earnings of prostitution; procuring, inducing or taking persons for the sake of prostitution and prostitution in or in the vicinity of public places. They will be produced in court tomorrow, police sources said.

ASP Bhajan Dev Negi, who was the brain behind the case, said as it was an organised crime it needed logistic support and proper planning to apprehend the culprits. The police are optimistic about getting information about other such gangs prevailing in the state.

Earlier on July 8 this year, the police had arrested 31 persons, including eight women, for alleged involvement in flesh trade from a hotel near Shoghi on the border of the Shimla- Solan district.