The Kerala Police have arrested seven persons in connection with the exchange of partners for sex after a woman from Changanaserry lodged a complaint with the Karukachal police in the Kottayam district.
The woman, a homemaker, had lodged a complaint against her husband, who was part of the 'çouple sharing' group, stating that he forced her to have sexual relations with another man. Her husband is a native of Karukachal.
The survivor claimed that she was subject to unnatural sex. The arrest of her husband and his friends led the police to a wide network behind 'couple sharing.'
The police said that while seven persons were arrested, more than 25 people are under observation and more arrests are likely to be made in a couple of days.
More than 1,000 couples are in these groups and they were exchanging women, according to Police.
Police further said that the accused belonged to three districts of the state, adding that people from across the state are part of this racket.
Sources also said that several people who are in the higher echelons of society are part of this group.
A senior police official from Kottayam told news agency IANS, "The modus operandi is to first join the Telegram and Messenger groups and then two or three couples meet periodically. After that women are exchanged and there were even instances of a woman being shared by three men at a time. Money also changed hands as some single members in the group with some men providing their wives for money for a day of physical relationship."
Police said that a detailed investigation is on to get the minute details of those who were involved in this women exchange group and whether these group members have relationships with any other groups.
It may be recalled that in 2019, police had busted a wife swapping network in Kayamkulam. The group reportedly exchanged their wives for sex with the help of ShareChat, a social network app.