Bengaluru: Human trafficking ring busted; 17 women rescued

Bengaluru: The City Crime Branch officials have busted a human trafficking ring in Bengaluru and arrested 7 persons in connection with the case. Officials have also rescued 17 women who were forced into the flesh trade.

The arrested accused have been identified as Basavaraju Shankarappa Kalasad (43) a junior artiste from Koppal, Adarsha a.k.a Adi (28), a dancer from Mysuru, Rajendra Nachimuttu (32) from Salem in Tamil Nadu, Mariyappan (44) an artist agent from Chennai, Chandu (20) from Bengaluru, T. Ashok (29) from Pondicherry and S. Rajiv Gandhi (35) from Tiruvallur in Tamil Nadu.

The police have arrested three accused from Karnataka and four from Tamil Nadu.

It is said that the accused were sending junior artistes and dancers in the film industries of the country to Dubai promising them better opportunities, but eventually forcing them into the flesh trade.

The police have gathered information on 95 women being sent to Dubai and seized 17 passports.

The accused provided Rs 50,000 as advance money and helped them get Visa to Dubai and sent them there. The gang targeted women from the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab.

The accused had connections with the owners of dance bars in Dubai. Once the girls landed in Dubai they were forced to perform in dance bars. Later, the dance bar owners forced them to attract customers and entertain them.

If the girls refuse to do so, they were tortured mentally and physically. The victims were asked to return the advance money immediately. As girls would exhaust money taken as an advance, they were forced to continue with the job.

One of the victims who got trapped with the gang had approached Hennur police station in Bengaluru and lodged a complaint. Later, considering the seriousness of the case, it was handed over to the CCB for further investigation.

(With inputs from IANS)