Berhampur: Silk City police have arrested six people, including the alleged mastermind of a sex racket, a report said Monday. According to it, Baidyanathpur police raided a house in fifth lane of Gajapati Nagar and arrested six persons, including the X-Spam-Subject: YES woman mastermind, a sex worker and four customers from the place.
The woman mastermind had taken the house on monthly rent and running a sex racket there, town sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Prabhat Chandra Routray said.
The accused customers were identified as Purna Chandra Panigrahi of Polsara, Hine Goud of Mohana, Krushna Sahu of Panigrahi Pentha Sahi in the town and J Rameya of Aryapalli.
In the raid, Rs 2,495 cash, nine mobile phones and 49 packets of condoms were seized from the house. A medical test was conducted on the accused before they were produced before the court, Baidyanathpur IIC Ajay Mishra said.
Police said a woman was found to be the mastermind of the racket on whose instruction girls and women were brought from within and outside the Ganjam district for flesh trade. A customer wishing to avail the service of any of the women had to pay between Rs 1000 and Rs 3000 to the mastermind, the woman confessed to the police during interrogation.
Sources said the city which has become a safe haven for criminals has come under control due to regular police crackdown on hardcore criminals. However, taking advantage of the police engagement with the criminals, some middlemen and agents are procuring girls not only within the state but also from outside of the state and engaging them in flesh trade by taking houses on rent in various lanes and by lanes of the city.
Locals claimed that such illegal trade is flourishing in many inner areas of the Silk City and demanded police to intervene and put an end to the business. PNN
