Bengaluru: Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths busted a prostitution racket that was run with the help of apps and social networking websites and rescued two women from West Bengal.
The police arrested an autorickshaw driver, Srinivas, after a raid in Malleswaram on Sunday, but the kingpins Shivu and Ravi managed to escape.
CCB sleuths said that the two kingpins sent girls’ photos and other details on WhatsApp and through emails to their potential customers. Once the customers made their choice and decided the place, the autorickshaw driver dropped them at the spot.
Shivu and Ravi were also running a paying guest accommodation in Malleswaram and had given their mobile phone numbers and email IDs on social networking websites. In some cases, they would also book rooms for their customers, the police said.
They had sent the girls to Shivajinagar, Palace Guttahalli, M.G. Road, Ashok Nagar, Mekhri Circle and Shanthinagar.
“Srinivas took the girls to pre-designated spots and the customers chose them as they were sitting inside the vehicle. Later, the customer dropped the girls at the same point and the auto driver brought them back,” the police said.
The crime branch had kept a watch on the racket after a tipoff. On Sunday, they raided the place on 18th Cross in Malleswaram and arrested the auto driver.
But the kingpins managed to escape. The accused used malls and hospitals as their pick-up and drop-off points to avoid being noticed.
The police found out that the prime accused got women from West Bengal. The two who have been rescued are said to be in their twenties.
