The city police have busted a human trafficking ring that was sending junior artistes and dancers in the film industries of the country to Dubai promising them better opportunities, but eventually forcing them into flesh trade.
A 32-year-old junior artiste working in Kannada films, who went to Dubai believing promises of better opportunities by the ring, was eventually forced into flesh trade. However, somehow she managed to get her passport back and returned to Bengaluru. Thereafter, she approached the Central Crime Branch (CCB) that had spurred a probe into the ring.
Police arrested a total of seven men, most of them working as junior artiste managers and in the event management industry in the city and Tamil Nadu. The arrested have been identified as Basavaraju Shankarappa Kalasad, 43, a junior artiste manager, the kingpin of the ring, who was arrested in a similar human trafficking case in Nandini Layout in 2020 and was out on bail, dancer and artiste agent Adarsha, 28, courier delivery agent Chandru R, from the city, event management professional Rajendra Nachimuttu, 32, artiste agent Mariappan, 32, DJ and event manager T. Ashok, 29, artiste agent Rajiv Gandhi, 35.
The ring was targeting women working as junior artistes, dancers in film industries and working in the event management sector in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Punjab. The ring promised the women better salaries and living conditions in Dubai, got them passports, visas and even gave them an advance of ₹50,000 and sent them to Dubai. However, in Dubai, they were pushed to work as dancers at dance bars, where there was a target set for each dancer on the business she gets the bar, which was almost unachievable. When the girls failed to achieve the impossible targets, they were forced to accompany clients on shopping trips and eventually into flesh trade. If the women refused, the ring often asked them to return the advance they were paid which many were unable to do so. Also, the ring confiscated their passports trapping them in Dubai, the police said.
During multiple raids on the houses of the accused, CCB police have recovered passports of 17 women, which essentially means these 17 women were all set to go to Dubai. “These women have now been saved from the ordeal,” a senior official said.
Police investigations have so far revealed that the ring has at least sent 95 women on similar trips to Dubai, of which many of them have returned home.
