Mangalore: Impact: Hours after exposé, prostitution hub raided, three detained
Pics: Meryick D'Silva
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (DV)
Updated
Mangalore, Sep 10: Hours after Daijiworld exposed the prostitution racket being run from a house-turned-lodge at Pandeshwar here, the city crime branch (CCB) police Valentine D'Souza and the Pandeshwar police raided the spot separately and took three persons for questioning.
However, it turned out that as soon as the report had gone online, the pimps and girls at the prostitution hub had vacated the place, and when the raids took place, the police found the rooms empty.
Nevertheless, the Pandeshwar police took Venkatesh and Raghav who were cleaning the lodge for questioning, while the CCB police detained the manager of the lodge Shivashankar.
When questioned by the police, Shivashankar said that visitors come to the lodge just to take bath and refresh.
Pandeshwar police also said that they sealed the lodge after conducting the raid.
Speaking to daijiworld, the Pandeshwar police said that further action will be decided upon after interrogating Venkatesh and Raghav.
CCB inspector Valentine D'Souza said that Shivashankar would be interrogated and a report would be submitted to the DCP (crime), after which further action would be taken.
There is no information presently on the whereabouts of the lodge owner and the pimps.
Earlier Report
Shreyas H S / Kunal Shenoy
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Sep 10: A sting operation by Daijiworld team has unravelled a shocking prostitution racket being run blatantly from morning hours until late night in a house at Pandeshwar here. What's more, the police seem to have turned a blind eye to the racket.
On information from highly placed sources, ironically from the police department itself, when Daijiworld team reached the place - 'Karuna', a house-turned-lodge - was found to be running a flesh trade without any fear. A close observation of the place revealed that the house was bustling with prostitution.
Karuna lodge is located near Old Kent Road, in a dark corner by the side of the railway track, about 200 meters away from the fire service station. The lodge functions round the clock, guarded by many muscular men who work in shifts.
It was found that there are as many as 12-20 girls living in the place allegedly offering sexual pleasure to customers looking for sex. The batch of girls changes every three weeks, which suggests that the house could be linked to a larger racket operating outside Mangalore and the state.
From information gathered on the style of operation from one of the regular customers, it was learnt that the inflow of females from Mumbai and Nepal is more, while from states like Karunataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala it is relatively less. "Girls demand a minimum of Rs 300 for one-time sexual intercourse and more for extended time," said a customer on the condition of anonymity.
He further added that girls were forced to demand less money on stern instructions from pimps (middle men in flesh trade). The pimps in the house demand not less than Rs 500 for one-time physical intimacy, Rs 1,500 for an hour and Rs 3,000 for a day-long stay at the lodge with a girl.
"The center conducts the business from 6 am to 12 am and a single female may sleep with maximum of 20 men a day," he said, adding that around 200-250 customers like him come there on a daily basis to seek pleasure.
A large chunk of prostitutes fall in the age group of 25-35, as customers demand young blood. Poverty-ridden females become easy prey for the prostitution racket and enter the business haplessly to make a living.
One of the pimps said the lodge would be closed if there was any indication of a police raid. The place otherwise runs the flesh trade for almost 19 hours a day. The girls brought from various places stay for three weeks until another batch of girls arrives. "There is no fixed set of girls to sell sex," he said.
Though there are residential apartments and a school close by, it does not seem to have deterred the owner of the lodge from carrying out the alleged trade. The apathy by the police department, according sources, has eased the way for the racket to relentlessly sale female flesh.
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