Hyderabad: The court has allowed a petition seeking to release the national award winning actress who was held allegedly in a high profile sex racket.
It directed officials to release her from the rescue home immediately where she had been lodged since her arrest in September.
Earlier, the victim’s mother had filed a petition at a local court in Erramanzil seeking her custody. However it was dismissed.
In her petition she reportedly requested the court to hand over the custody of the actress and she would take her to their house in Mumbai.
She told the court that if given custody she would take care of her daughter and keep a check on her activities and thus prevent her from falling prey to flesh trade sharks or committing such mistakes again.
It is learnt that the police opposed the petition. Following this the court dismissed the petition and issued orders asking the actress to remain in the rescue home at Falaknuma.
The court also ordered that the rehabilitation should continue and counselling assistance should be given too. It said the actress should serve her sentence completely.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the verdict the actress’s mother approached the court and filed a petition challenging the former verdict. The criminal court which examined the petition issued orders to concerned officials to release the actress from the rescue home immediately.
Sources said the actress may be set free in a day or two following the court's order.
The 23-year-old national award winning Bollywood-Tollywood actress was arrested for prostitution during a decoy operation by the Hyderabad West Zone task force police in a star hotel in Banjara Hills along with the sex racket’s organiser Anjaneyulu alias Balu.
After a medical examination at a government hospital, she was sent to a rescue home run by the Women and Child Welfare Department where women rescued by police and those facing trial are given shelter during the trial period.
The inmates are provided free food, clothing, medical care and also vocational training. The actress who acted in Tamil, Telugu and Bengali films too was collecting Rs 1 lakh each from high flying customers.
The actress reportedly claimed that she was out of money and had to support her family. She said she took to the flesh trade as she was helpless and had no option left. She also claimed to have made wrong choices in her career too.
Meanwhile, the Banjara Hills police said after release she would have to regularly appear before court as part of the trial in the case against her.
