GUWAHATI: Assam police on Tuesday, August 10, arrested the alleged mastermind of an inter-state prostitution racket operating through social media networks and a string of private hotels in Guwahati.
One Nayanmoni Patowary, manager of Hotel Minerva in Panbazar was apprehended on charges of allegedly running the racket, police said. Later, Patowary told investigators that one Saneep Kumar aka Mukul Bhardwaj aka Bambam was the alleged kingpin of the racket and that Bharadwaj was running it along with his wife Diya Sarmah aka Junaki Begum.
G Plus spoke to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (Crime) Numal Mahatta, who said senior police officials took note of the matter after it was first noticed on the Internet. The DCP said that different hotel rooms might have been used for the purpose and more facts will come to light after further investigation.
The Assam police took stock of the matter after the Social Media Cell of Police Commissionerate in Guwahati came across Twitter handles and websites claiming to provide ‘escort services’ in Guwahati and other cities of Assam.
Preliminary technical investigations revealed mobile numbers connected to the racket and exposed the involvement of an inter-state gang in the case. The Crime Branch has registered a complaint in this matter, police reports said.
The culprits allegedly communicated with potential customers via social media or other online methods to fix dates, girls and their rates.
Advertisements for the alleged ‘escort services’ were also noticed by concerned Guwahati residents. As per police reports, the alleged prostitution ring operated in Hotel Minerva, Panbazar or in one of the rooms rented by Mukul Bhardwaj aka Bambam aka Saneep Kumar in an apartment called Jiyabharali.
The Crime Branch teamed up with different Police Stations (PS) and apprehended Diya Sarmah aka Junaki Begum from the Patharquary area of Guwahati under Noonmati Police Station (PS) on August 6.
As for the sex workers, police said that they will have to investigate whether the women joined the trade willingly or are victims of trafficking, a senior official from the Crime Branch told G Plus.
