Deepak Mahato
Post News Network
BHUBANESWAR: With the increasing footfall of tourists in the state, illegal flesh-trade is flourishing in the state capital, right under the nose of the police department. On offer: students from prominent colleges, models, actors, among others.
Sex racketeers functioning in the state provide their clients round-the-clock services, like any corporate service outlets. They operate via the social networking sites. Police sources point out that such rackets are widespread and do not confine themselves to the city or the state.
The city has its fair share of massage parlours and escort service providers, a euphemism for high-society flesh trade, and they operate via networking sites like facebook and twitter. They lure customers also via sites like locanto, libido, olx etc.
These agents and agencies have also given space for free advertisements on their sites, which invite prospective clients to call various mobile numbers. Photographs of several attractive girls and women are placed on these sites. Girls or women of any age are
on offer.
However, among the main attractions are girls studying in higher classes of reputed English medium schools, colleges and even engineering and medical colleges. Highly priced airhostesses, models, and Oriya serial and movie actress are ‘available’ as well, with rates quoted almost double or more of the rates quoted in metropolitan cities.
An OP correspondent, who called up several of these phone numbers to learn how these rackets operate, met with several encouraging responses from women and their agents. “Do not call us sex service… we are escort service providers,” one respondent corrected the scribe. Some service providers are willing to reach the services at customers’ doorsteps, any time of the day or night, but they prefer hotels or private lodges as a better option.
“No worries, 100 per cent safety assured,” said one respondent. “Bina police ro sahajiyo re e pori kamo hobo ne (Without police support, we cannot carry on with this business, you see.)”
Those who seek a girl below age 19 would have to shell out `8,000 or thereabouts per hour. Such girls are available only on hourly basis, as they are said to be “studying” in various schools. An “engineering” or “medical” student would be available for `10,000 or so per hour and an actress for `25,000 per hour, the correspondent learned.
Services are not limited to men. “It works the other way too,” a service provider said, and claimed there is a growing clientele, like in metropolitan cities.