The Hindu : New Delhi News : Prostitution racket busted

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 02, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Prostitution racket busted

Staff Reporter

Vimal Thapa took care of "operations" in the absence of notorious pimp Kamaljit

NEW DELHI: An alleged high- profile pimp, who was said to be a trusted lieutenant of notorious pimp Kamaljit, has been arrested by the Crime Branch of the Delhi police. Two alleged call girls have also been arrested.

According to the police, Kamaljit, who was arrested earlier this year, had disclosed during interrogation that Vimal Thapa was one of his most trusted men and that he took care of the "operations" in his absence. The police were looking for Vimal since then.

On Friday, a Crime Branch team had fixed a deal with a pimp who was supposed to meet with the decoy customer near Sartaz Hotel on Aurobindo Marg in South Delhi. The police arrested the alleged pimp, who turned out to be none other than Vimal. He was operating under an assumed name. At his instance, two call girls were also arrested.

The police said Vimal, a Nepali national, had come to Dehra Dun in 1983. There, he got a job in the military canteen. Later, he came to Delhi when one of his acquaintances got him a job at Kamaljit's house as a domestic help.

Initially, Kamaljit, who had already become a pimp, drew Thapa into the trade by paying him handsomely for ferrying the call girls across the city. Gradually, Vimal won Kamaljit's trust and virtually became the second-in-command.

After Kamaljit's arrest, he had begun his independent operations. His network was spread in Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Chennai and Uttaranchal. He would arrange for the stay and air tickets of the girls who used to shuttle between these cities. Since, he was an associate of Kamaljit, who has been booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), the police have also invoked the MCOCA against Vimal.

One of the young women arrested on Friday allegedly told the police that she was originally from Gurdaspur in Punjab. Her mother lived in Mumbai and worked in a pharmaceutical firm. The young woman joined a call centre where she came in contact with another woman, who was already a part of Vimal's network. She also got a couple of chances to appear in some of Hindi films as part of dancing troupe. The accused would charge up to Rs. 1 lakh for a night if the clients were ready to pay, the police said. Vimal would take 60 per cent, while she kept 40 per cent.

The other woman allegedly told the police that her mother had pushed her into prostitution.

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