PUDUCHERRY : Police are all set to arrest their colleagues who were involved in a child sex racket and had forced two minor girls to have a sexual relationship with them.
The action follows after two minor girls identified the cops through an identification parade conducted through video conferencing as per a Madras High Court order on December 13. The Court had directed the Superintendent of police, Puducherry, to conduct an identification parade through video conferencing to enable the girls identify personnel with whom they were forced to have sexual relationship. Accordingly, an identification parade was conducted in the presence of the Chief Judicial Magistrate where 12 police personnel were produced.
Charges have already been framed against Inspectors Yuvaraj and Sunder, Sub Inspectors Balakrishnan and Basha, retired Sub-Inspector Rajaram, Head Constables Kumaravelu, Pandarinathan and constables Vijay Kumar and Shankar after it was found that they had made calls to the pimps who had forced the girls into flesh trade. Subsequently, they were suspended from service. However, none of them has been arrested so far. Now that the girls have identified the police personnel, additional charges of rape would be framed against them.
The issue came to light when two girls, aged 14 years and 16 years from Lawspet, who were allegedly forced into flesh trade approached the Child Help Line in April seeking protection from sexual harassment and abuse.
The girls accused three women of forcing them to continue sexual relationship with several men. This was done after threatening them with making of public video clippings where they were in a compromising position.
CB-CID in Puducherry registered a case against the three women, three police personnel and other unknown persons and have also arrested four people. The four persons have been identified as K Pushpa, 43, from Thavalakuppam, S Raghu alias Rahman Khan, 29, from Tindivanam in Villupuram district, M Manickam, 22, from Anumanthai in Villupuram district and S Arul Mary, 73, from Puducherry. Police rescued four minor girls, who were forced into prostitution.
Meanwhile, CB-CID inspector and investigation officer A Khaid Haazam said the modus operandi of the gang was to lure the minor girls by promising luxurious lifestyles.
The gang would offer them soft drinks laced with sedatives before taking them to clients’ place where they would be raped. The girls would then be blackmailed with photographs and forced into flesh trade. Afraid of the threats, the victims also lured two more girls into flesh trade.