- Nearly 80 women, mostly from Bangladesh, Mumbai and North Karnataka, have been rescued in the last six to seven months in more than 10 raids in and around the city.
With the Goa government cracking down on massage parlours and prostitution dens in an attempt to shed its image of a sex tourism destination, traffickers seem to have shifted to Mysore now, according to sources.
Nearly 80 women, mostly from Bangladesh, Mumbai and North Karnataka, have been rescued in the last six to seven months in more than 10 raids in and around the city. In the latest incident, nine girls, including five from Bangladesh and three tribal women from Bellary and Davangere, were rescued after a raid on a hotel spread over 18 acres in Gundlupet town on Tuesday. But this is only the tip of the iceberg, sources claim.
Tourist spots and hotels in Gundlupet, Periyapatna, Mysore and Srirangapatna are seeing an increase in cases of sex tourism. Although former Inspector General of Police A S N Murthy had cracked down on massage parlours in the region two years ago, particularly around Bandipur, a few hotels still manage to run massage parlours, catering to the tourists from other states.
A study by Odanadi Seva Trust, an NGO, says women from Bangladesh are smuggled into the country by bribing border security personnel. The women return home after making money through immoral activities. Though the Anti-Trafficking Cell and police work together and raid lodges and brothels, they don’t seal the properties.
They are required to seal them in keeping with the provisions of the law like Kerala and Tamil Nadu do. They only seize cash, cellphones and other valuables from rescued women, the NGO says.
These hoteliers prefer Bangladesh women since they don’t know the local language, topography or anyone to help them get out of the hotel. Illegal activities go unchecked since many hotels have installed cameras outside but none inside, sources say.
Director of Odanadi Parshuram said they have information that more than 10,000 Bangladeshi women have illegally settled in Bangalore and neighbouring places.
Admitting that it is a challenge to identify them, he said there are no rehabilitation centres for those rescued. There are also no funds to send them back. It is most disturbing that brothel owners, pimps and traffickers are luring tribal women, he said.
IG Ramachnadra Rao said hotels on the border take advantage of isolated areas to carry out their activities. “I have directed officers to cancel their licences,” he said.
Report as per NDTV and Samachar
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