Online prostitution racket busted

Bengaluru: In its drive against flesh trade in the city, the central division police have busted an online prostitution racket and arrested three pimps and rescued a sex worker late Wednesday night.

The accused have been identified as Mohammed (28), Shiv Kumar (26) and Tabraz (27). The police have also rescued a 22-year-old woman, a native of Madhya Pradesh, who was forced into flesh trade.

Based on a tip-off, the central division police raided a flat and arrested the trio who were running an online prostitution racket under the name of ‘Bangalore Call Girls’.

The accused had given their numbers on the website to lure customers on the pretext of giving ‘good services’.

The arrest was made from Inner Ring Road near Sony junction and later the woman, who was kept at a rented flat in Vivek Nagar for over six months, was rescued, the police said.

In last one week, this is the fourth raid on prostitution rings by the central division police. The police have so far arrested 10 pimps and seized around six vehicles. The police have also initiated legal action against 14 sex workers.

DCP (Central) Sandeep Patil told Deccan Chronicle, “We had received a lot of complaints about the sex rackets being active in and around MG Road area. To curb the menace, we formed a special team with policemen deployed in mufti and conducted raids at various places.”

In a similar raid early Tuesday, the police had caught four sex workers who were found soliciting customers on footpaths in and around MG Road and surrounding areas. Majority of their customers were cab drivers, the police said.