Hyderabad: The recent crackdown of online prostitution rackets in Hyderabad has brought to notice that pimps in and around the city offer e-payment to the clients. Their clients can avail the services they provide using Paytm as well as online bank transfer.
The police suspect they also use Point of Sale machines to swipe debit cards. “After demonetization, there were regulations on withdrawal from banks and ATMs went dry. People who managed the business of sex workers thought of offering this option, too”, said Rachakonda police commissioner Mahesh M. Bhagwat, reports DC.
Several pimps were arrested by Rachakonda police, who had raided around 50 places last year. The women are brought from Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Delhi and Pune on contract for weekly or fortnightly basis.
Mr Bhagwat says, “Our primary focus is to rescue the women and arrest the organisers. Tracking the payment mode is our next plan.”
Deputy commissioner of police, task force, B. Limba Reddy said the organisers were booking hotels, flight and train tickets and making payments through online payment gateways. “The customers and the organisers contact through online classified sites and websites. New customers are asked to pay in cash while the old ones are offered the option of online payments”, he said.
The organisers provide bank account details of people in other cities. Once the customer makes the payment, the account holder gets a text message and he/she immediately withdraws the money from ATMs. “The account holders are money mules. After retaining their commission, they transfer the money to organisers,” the official said.