Date:21/02/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/02/21/stories/2007022103980500.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Nalgonda

28 girls rescued from brothels

Staff Reporter

Police raid den in Maharashtra

Traffickers lure girls on the pretext of offering jobs

Officials to restore the victims to their parents

NALGONDA: A police team led by Suryapet Circle Inspector M. Tirupathanna rescued 35 girls from the brothels of Chandrapur in Maharashtra after arresting 15 traffickers, including a mother-son duo, in a raid conducted on Monday.

Of the rescued girls, 28 are from the State, six are from Maharashtra and one is from Karnataka.

The girls belong to Warangal and Khammam (seven members each), Hyderabad (five), Nalgonda (four) and Adilabad, Mahaboobnagar, Krishna, Guntur and Nellore (one each), Superintendent of Police Vijay Kumar said in a press release here on Tuesday.

The traffickers allegedly forced them into flesh trade after luring them with jobs.

Kingpins — Raninga Venkatesh and his mother Sundaramma alias Somakka of Nakrekal and K. Chandrakala of Kamareddigudem of Tripuraram mandal — were among the 15 persons arrested on the charge of trafficking girls.

Accused

While seven accused persons hail from Warangal district, two are from Hyderabad, one each from Khammam, Guntur and Maharashtra.

The police produced the victims and the accused persons before a local court. "The girls will be handed over to officials of the Child Welfare Department who will restore them to their parents," police sources said.

Mr. Kumar appreciated Chandrapur Collector Sanjay Jaiswal for helping the State police in carrying out the operation.