Promising marriage, lover sells girl to Mumbai brothel

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The two-month ordeal that 21-year-old Vaishali Rao (name changed) allegedly went through could be a lesson for any young woman to be careful about whom she courts. Vaishali, a BSc student from NES College in Yelahanka staying in Sharmasri Ladies Hostel near her college, was duped by her boyfriend named Santosh into believing that he would marry her; instead, he took her to Mumbai, promising to marry her there and introduced her to his 'sister'. The woman sold her to a 'madam' in Kamatipura—the infamous red light area in the mega polis— to work as a sex worker.

Vaishali, for one, was lucky that she could be rescued by the Nagapada police of Mumbai (under the jurisdiction of which Kamatipura falls). However, the Mumbai and Bangalore police feel her rescue may have come came a bit too late. Shivajinagar police, to whom the case has been transferred to by Mumbai’s Nagapada police, said although she has been sent to her home in Bangalore by the Mumbai police, her swab samples have been sent to a forensic laboratory in Mumbai to verify whether she had been sexually assaulted by the pimps to force her to solicit clients.

According to a complaint filed by Vaishali with Nagapada police in Mumbai, she was introduced to Santosh, a resident of Shivajinagar in Bangalore. She fell in love and decided to marry him.

But on April 4, her ordeal began. On that day, she met Santosh in Shivajinagar, and both had snacks and fruit juice in an eatery. On consuming the juice she felt dizzy and fell asleep. Hours later, when she woke up, she was in a bus with Santosh sitting next to her. He told her they were en route Mumbai to meet his family members for permission to get married there.

Although baffled by the sudden turn of events, Vaishali was overwhelmed.

On reaching Mumbai on April 5, Santosh informed her that he was taking her to his sister’s house in Sion-Chembur area. He introduced a woman as his sister and asked Vaishali to be with her so she could go for wedding shopping with her.

When Santosh left the place, the woman (yet to be identified) called in another woman and asked Vaishali to go with her for shopping.

However, the second woman turned out to be a 'madam' in a Kamatipura brothel. The woman informed Vaishali that she had been sold to her and that she would have to solicit clients from then on. A shocked Vaishali resisted, but the madam locked inside a small room till April 7.

But Vaishali developed internal bleeding, gynaecological and respiratory problems. The 'madam' was forced to admit her to a hospital in Gamdevi (South Mumbai). Vaishali was admitted there in an unconscious state for two days. But when she recovered, the nurses inquired and learnt about her predicament. They informed Nagapada police which rushed a team to the hospital and booked a case under various sections of IPC read with sections of Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act.

After subjecting her to a medical examination, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone III, Mumbai, Kishore Jadhav, ordered her to be sent back to Bangalore with the case details for Shivajinagar police to further investigate the case.

The Shivajinagar police have taken up a case and have launched a massive manhunt for Santosh. “We suspect that he (Santosh) could be a link to a bigger prostitution racket. His arrest could throw some light on this,” a Shivajinagar police sub-inspector, said.