Around a dozen sex rackets have been busted in the State capital in past four years, but in want of stern action against the rackets are still flouring under the cover of massage parlours in the city.
The reason behind this is reportedly the less conviction rate under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act.
Superintendent of Police Bhopal (North) Arvind Saxena accepted that the flesh trade is mushrooming in the city. The police personnel have been instructed to monitor the massage parlours and share the data during the review meetings of crime.
He claimed that there are few obstacles in according punishment to the people involved in flesh trade. It becomes hard to prove the circumstantial evidences during the court proceedings due to which the accused escapes easily from the clutches of law leading to a very low conviction rate. The low conviction rate encourages the accused to start the illegal business again.
On analysis of data of conviction rate, Saxena said that it could be found that only in negligible number of cases, accused were convicted, that too for sections having very less punishment.
Notably, four days ago, the police unearthed one such flesh trade racket being operated from a beauty parlour in 10 Number Market. The police believe that it was not an isolated case, wherein a parlour was only a front for running illegal activities. This is the second time when a sex racket was unearthed in the building in the past few years.
Seizure of a dairy in the raid with names of some 40 persons, including influential people as customers, has once again brought in focus dubious activities being run from massage parlours in the city, the police said.
Police raids in the past point out that unscrupulous elements resort to offer massage services to throw law enforcing agencies out of order. Those indulging in sleazy activities do not have to go out for customers and the entire fiasco is run from within the parlour, the officer said.
Police officials claim that after having unearthed sex racket in Arera Colony area, police personnel have been asked to maintain strict vigil at such parlours in New Market, MP Nagar, Idgah Hills and Koh-e-Fiza localities.
In January this year, the police busted rackets of flesh trade and selling of minor girls in Piplani area of BHEl township. The flesh trade was being run through a website.
Similarly, in September 2012, a sex racket was busted in Koh-e-Fiza area in which around 10 persons, including women and their alleged customers, were caught from a house. A sex racket was unearthed in MP Nagar in 2011 running in guise of a parlour. Another beauty parlour was raided in Arera Colony in 2010.
Superintendent of Police Bhopal (South) Anshuman Singh said that opening of beauty parlours could not be banned as it is legal form of business but those using these centers for running the illegal business could be strictly monitored