KOCHI: The arrest of Kiss of Love (KoL) organiser Rahul Pashupalan and his wife turns the spotlight on the underbelly of sex abuse and flesh trade taking place under the guise of ‘escort service’ in Kochi.
Manoj Sreedhar, who along with his wife, financed Rahul’s film project, said, “I stopped financing after investing `3 lakh initially. We all knew his wife was a member of the escort service in Kochi. But I stopped the film project titled ‘Pling’ scripted by his wife Resmi when I realised the duo had no idea of film making and modeling,” he said.
A person who was part of the network said Rahul and his wife were mules in the networks. Women from other cities like Bangalore are brought here based on the requirements and potential of the season.
Advertisings are given in some adult magazines abroad and websites made for the purpose which provide access to select members of the network and their bona fide clientele, he said.
“Another former member of the network said escort women were available for rates ranging from `5,000 to `5 lakh in Kochi per day service.
“The rate is fixed based on the celebrity status of the girls. The arrested who was available for `10,000 before the KoL event forced the network to raise the rate up to `1 lakh. Television and serial actresses were available for the escort service through the networks.
According to market sources, the success of the networks lies in maintaining secrecy of their client base and ensuring satisfaction of customers. Once a client found a place in the bona fide customer database, he would be offered special privileges and concessions.
They revealed that their client base included high profile people in business and political circles of the state as well.