The City police busted a prostitution racket in which 18 persons, including eight women, were arrested from a tourist home, near Valiyathura, on Wednesday.
Those arrested were identified as Anil Kumar, 30, of Karamcode in Kollam; Vijayan, 45, of Kochuthoppu; Varun, 33, of Ilipode; Unnikrishnan, 45, of Kowdiar; Rajeev, 24, of Malayinkeezhu; Faizal, 25, of Kattakkada; Kiran Babu, 23, of Thrikkannapuram; Shibu, 34, of Mamam in Attingal; Gopalakrishnan, 65, of Mundoor in Palakkad; Suresh Kumar, 55, of Chanthavila; Sureshkumari, 47, of Chithira Nagar; Mini, 24, of Kudappanakkunnu; Nisha, 26, of Pachalloor; Sainaba alias Saira, 35, of Kanyakumari; Gopika alias Chinnu, 28, of Idukki; Jolly, 32, of Venganoor; Bindu, 33, of Malamukal; and Rajani, 35, of Cherunniyoor.
“Gopalakrishnan is the manager of Star Ruksana Tourist Home in Kochuthope, near the domestic terminal of the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, which was being used as base for immoral trafficking. Suresh Kumar is an employee of the tourist home and he was found to have facilitated the activities of the gang. The owner of the facility will also be named as an accused in the case if evidence pointing to his role in the racket is found. Similar activities have been reported from the tourist home in the past as well,” K. Dhanapalan, Sub-inspector, Valiyathura police, said.
He added that it was Sureshkumari, who allegedly obtained the sex workers for soliciting prostitution. The raid, which was led by Assistant Commissioner (Shanghumugham) Jawahar Janardh and Poonthura Circle Inspector Sunil Das, was undertaken after surveillance of the tourist home for nearly a week. The accused, who have been charged under relevant sections of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, will be produced before a court on Thursday.
