23 years after a sex racket was reported in Kochi, where a minor girl was forced to have sex with men in exchange of money, the Kerala police have arrested a key accused, identified as Suresh. Suresh, who had been declared as a fugitive in the case after he went absconding, was nabbed from Hyderabad on Saturday.
The case dates back to 1996, when a minor girl from Vithura in Thiruvananthapuram was held hostage and forced to having sex with various people in exchange for money. The girl was brought to Ernakulam in 1995 by her neighbour, Ajitha Beegam, who had promised to get her a job as a domestic help. In October 1995, Ajitha handed the girl over to Suresh, who forced her into having sex with several men for money, reports The New Indian Express. In July 1996, however, the minor was arrested. When she came out on bail on July 23, she lodged a complaint with the police and an FIR was filed. The case was handed over to the Crime Branch a day after the FIR was filed.
On Saturday, Suresh was nabbed from Hyderabad by a team led by Crime Branch Ernakulam Circle Inspector Baiju Paulose. He had gone absconding in 2014 when the hearing of the case was proceeding at the Additional District Session Court (Special) Kottayam.
After he went missing, the Additional District and Sessions Court declared him fugitive.
A special crime branch team had been formed under Crime Branch SP VM Mohammed Rafeeq with DySP Immanuel Paul and Circle Inspectors Baiju Paulose, Rajesh Kumar and Ramesh Kumar to trace the accused.
According to the police, he had been living in different in Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad.
“Suresh is the prime link in a sex racket that forces girls into sex for money with politicians and businessmen among others in Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad,” a statement from the Ernakulam Crime Branch said.
"His monthly income would amount to lakhs. He even used different names like Shajahan and Sha Nair. He is known as ‘Anwar Shah’ in the sex racket world. Though he owns flats in Mumbai, Mysuru and Hyderabad, he used to stay in five-star hotels,” the crime branch added.
The Crime Team nabbed him after observing that he frequently travelled by air between Mumbai and Hyderabad. A three-member Crime Branch team had been staying in Hyderabad for a week and interrogated his allies, who were also involved in the racket, leading to the arrest.
Some of the accused in the case had kept the girl hostage for 10 days and raped her, before selling her, reports The New Indian Express. The cases were registered under Section- 3(1) and 5 (1) of the Immoral Trafficking Act.