Throw them out of their business - that seems to be the formula adopted by cops to thwart the menace of organised pimps and brothels.
If you can’t stop them, throw them out of their business. That seems to be the formula adopted by the Mumbai police to thwart the menace of organised pimps and brothels, whose trade has flourished like nobody’s business in recent times.
In a bid to contain the flesh trade racket, the Mumbai police have, for the first time, externed a gang of nine pimps and brothel-keepers for a period of one year. It means the racketeers will be driven out of city precincts and, should they return, they would be arrested and prosecuted. What’s more, the police are also exploring if provisions of the MCOCA can be applied on the premise that the racket works like an organised syndicate. The police have taken recourse to Section 55 of the Bombay Police Act which lays down that “if a gang is creating trouble and public nuisance, such a gang can be externed”.
Police say those externed have a history of such crimes behind them.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Pratap Dighavkar says “these people operate in groups and are into many anti social activities including flesh trade. This makes them liable to be externed. We made a water-tight case against them and after a thorough enquiry by an assistant commissioner of police, externed them,” Dighavkar said.
Those externed were Jayraj Gowda alias Shetty, Raju Yadav, Mahesh Sharma, Kishore Modi, Mahendra Gowda, Satish Yadav, Narayan Gowda, Manja Gowda and Ibrahim alias Iqbal Baidh. “These people have been externed for a period of one year and have been ordered to stay out of Mumbai, Thane, Raigad and Navi Mumbai,” Dighavkar said.
Police say they have been grappling with the menace for years, but the brothel-keepers and pimps manage to exploit some legal loophole and get back to business. Majority girls rescued from the brothels also manage to come back. Armed with the clause in the Bombay Police Act, police feel they will be able to drastically curb, if not stop altogether the menace.
Dighavkar says the rationale behind the action is simple. “When a person is out of business for a year and out of city, it is very difficult for him to come back and start all over again. We will ensure that such elements do not gain a foothold in the business again,” he said.
The police are preparing a list of other gangs operating in the red light areas who could be dealt with in a similar manner. “We are also planning to book brothel-keepers and pimps under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA),” Dighavkar said.
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