A local court has acquitted Telugu actress Shweta Basu Prasad of prostitution charges and given her a clean chit. The actress who was arrested red handed at a posh hotel in a police sting operation in September last is now pronounced not guilty and the prostricituon case filed by the Police had been struck off.
What's her lawyer saying?
Shweta's lawyer pleaded before the court that she had gone to the hotel—Park Hyatt in Banjara Hills to attend a private function when she was arrested. Commenting on the court verdict Swetha Basu said she was happy and her family was also relieved.
What do cops say?
It was rumoured that high profile businessmen, from metro cities such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Mumbai, were arrested red-handed in a star hotel at Banjara Hills in Hyderabad but the police maintained complete silence and termed it as their sting operation as they kept watch on her for several months.
Police said that Shweta was in the business knowingly and that she was earlier caught in a compromising position during a sting operation. Balu, the pimp, used to take Rs 1 lakh on behalf of Shweta. After her arrest the actress said that she had made wrong choices in her career as she was bankrupt and had to support my family and some other good causes. "All the doors were closed and some people encouraged me to get into prostitution to earn money and hence I got involved in this act," she said adding that there are several other heroines who have under gone through this phase.
What are Shweta's credentials?
Shweta had won a national award for her stellar role in Bollywood movie Makdee. She had also acted in several Hindi movies and TV serials, such as—Iqbal, Kahani Ghar Ghari Ki, Karishma Ka Karishma and her role in Kotha Bangaru Lokam had earned her raving reviews.
What are the allegations?
Police sources say that Swetha however ran a tight ship after she was caught in a sting operation by a Telugu TV channel. The sting video revealed her comments about a guesthouse in Manikonda, HiTec Cit and her ongoing rate of Rs 2.5 lakh and above . Shweta would also demanded proof of identification such as an Aadhar card before she would take the final call on the client, said the TV story .
Shweta was just one of the several Telugu heroines who had fallen to the poverty trap - Bhuavaneswari ( 2009), Yamuna ( 2011). 22 year old Kinnera is said to have played a broker in luring junior artistes into the flesh trade. She was also caught in a TV sting operation. Her house was decked up like a "love den", with decor to match in bedrooms, bar etc.Saira Banu, Jyothi Was among the six girls arrested in Aug '10 police raid at Spring Heaven apartments in Hyderabad. The small-time actresses mostly played "side roles", seen in a number of Telugu hit films .Tara Chowdary, a broker cum actress and TV channel anchor was also arrested.
There has been an overwhelming furore and offer of support for Shweta who is seen as a victim of circumstances in the big, bad film world. Sakshi Tanwar, who played her mother in Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, director Hansal Mehta (of Makdee fame) has offered her a film. Another Telugu director Nagesh Kukunoor has extended support. Happy Days director Shekhar Kammula says Shweta is evidently the bakra and is just one of the names in a large chain.
Very recently Shweta had joined as a script consultant with Phantom production house which is helmed by Madhu Mantena, Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl and Vikramaditya Motwane.
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