HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad police continued their crackdown on drugs and sleaze in the Telugu film industry by zeroing in on a flesh racket involving a set of fringe Tollywood figures -- including two small-time actresses -- in Kundanbagh, the very locality in which police commissioner AK Khan lives.
Among the nine persons caught by the police from an apartment was a young Uzbek national. However, as per the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA) sex workers are not treated as accused -- only pimps, madams and women traffickers are. Therefore, both the actresses, Saira Bhanu and Jyothi, were let off on personal bonds. The Uzbek girl was detained as she did not possess valid documents for her stay in the country. The remaining six, including a woman, all organisers of the racket, were sent to judicial custody. Incidentally, Saira Bhanu’s name also figured in the list of Tollywood personalities who were alleged to be doing drugs. Late last night, an undercover party of the Task Force was sent to the apartment posing as flesh trade customers. They were conducted into the apartment and later, Bhanu and Jyothi arrived there one after the other. They were taken into detention.
Police officials said they have firm evidence that Tollywood figures are active in flesh trade. Sources said the entire operation was videographed. One officer said, “If anybody has doubts about film stars’ involvement in flesh trade, let them come to us and we will show them the evidence we have. Appearing on a TV channel in the evening, Jyothi was distraught. She said she was “trapped’’ by the police operatives. She had gone to the apartment to discuss a movie proposal. “When I went there, Saira Bhanu was already there and she was in police custody. The policemen took away our mobile phones and did not allow us to talk to our families.’’
She claimed she didn’t know Saira Bhanu and that she saw the Uzbek woman only at the police station.
Police said that the racket was being run at the apartment for the last two months. They said leads they had found in the drug crackdown last week led them to the flesh trade racket in Kundanbagh.
Saira Bhanu has acted in lead roles in films like Tic, Tic, Tic, Aaroje, `100 Kotlu’ and Inkosaari. She also played a supporting role in Siddharth’s hit film, Bommarillu. Jyothi did supporting roles in films like Golmaal, Kanchanamala Cable TV, Evarigola Vaadidi and, incidentally, played the role of a sex worker in a film titled Pellam Oorelthe.’
Police said the racket was being run by a small-time film producer, Juvvala Raju. The others arrested in the bust were named as Veeraiah, Ravi Chand, Rangaswamy, Murthy and Neelamani.