Flesh trade: Role of more cops, hotels under lens

Tribune News Service

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Ludhiana, February 5

After the suspension of two police officials by Ludhiana Commissioner of Police (CP) Mandeep Singh Sidhu for failing to take action against the ongoing flesh trade in three hotels near the bus stand in the city, sources said role of some other police personnel had also been under scanner. Even some other hotels where flesh trade is suspected to be going on for a long time may also face police action in the near future.

When Sidhu joined here as CP, he had categorically stated that he would have zero tolerance against corruption. He had clearly given a hint that he would reward police officials for their good performance and would also punish non-performing ones. Recently, he also gave rewards to many performing officials.

Notably, yesterday, CIA-1 inspector Rajesh Kumar and in-charge, Kochar Market police post, ASI Bheesham Dev, was placed under suspension by Sidhu for failing to control the menace of flesh trade being run openly in hotels. A day before the suspension of the two police officials, the police had also conducted a raid at three hotels near the bus stand and nabbed 13 women and five men from those hotels.

Sources said senior police officials had been observing the working of two police personnel (now suspended) for the past sometime and after finding their ‘lethargic and non-performing attitude’ against the hotels involved in the flesh trade, the former placed them under suspension.

The sources maintained that since the CP had asked a senior police official to conduct a departmental probe and submit report within a month, now, the latter would also find out the reason of not taking action against these hotels by the suspended policemen. The official might also probe if the hotels were offering any money to the cops to run the trade safely without facing any police action.

It is learnt that the busting of the flesh trade racket in three hotels is just a tip of the iceberg. The city has several hotels where one can get prostitutes or call girls by paying hotel charges and hotels even assure clients that they have collusion with some corrupt officials of the police stations or wings concerned as they pay money to them to run their affairs.