NEW DELHI: Police have arrested an alleged "manager" of a brothel in connection with the GB Road human trafficking and prostitution racket which was busted in August with half a dozen arrests. A team of Crime Branch arrested Damodar Pandey, a native of Nepal, from near NPL Parade Ground in Kingsway Camp on October 18, said Ravindra Yadav, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch).
Crime Branch had launched massive action and had invoked stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against six persons arrested on August 25. Another accused Sarfaraz had surrendered before the Crime Branch in the case while two more arrests were made later. 38-year-old Pandey was an active member of the alleged syndicate run by the kingpin-couple Afaq Hussain and Saira Begum, who were arrested by Crime Branch in August.
On sustained interrogation, Pandey allegedly confessed he is an active member of the syndicate and was the manager of Kotha No 64 located at GB Road. He used to collect money from customers and hand over the earnings to Afaq Hussain and Saira Begum, who are owners of the Kotha. He used to manage the day-to-day activities at the Kotha and kept watch on the activities of the girls there.
He also told police he first came to Delhi in 2006 and initially drove auto-rickshaw for livelihood. His elder brother Ramesh Pandey was driver of Afaq Hussain and Saira Begum and was the active member of the syndicate and was previously arrested in the same case. He was introduced to the couple by Ramesh and was working as Kotha manager for the last six years, police said.