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Delhi becoming a hub for foreign prostitutes
July 11, 2004
New Delhi - Has Delhi become a 'hot destination' for foreign prostitutes? The
answer is yes, say senior officers of Delhi Police that have cracked the whip
on sex workers. Though there are no figures of foreign sex workers living in
the capital, their population is growing by leaps and bounds, according to
police officers.
"Delhi has become the destination for many foreign sex workers, especially from
Central Asia, because of several factors. The economic collapse in the former
Soviet states is one of them," said an officer of the Crime Branch.
On Saturday, the Crime Branch arrested two sex workers, one from Uzbekistan and
another from Ukraine, and their Indian 'madam'.
The sex workers charged between Rs.8,000 and Rs.20,000 for a night, and had
signed a 'contract' with the 'madam' after paying her $3,000 to take care of
all their needs during their stay in New Delhi.
According to police records, most foreign sex workers come from Uzbekistan,
Azerbaijan and other states of the erstwhile Soviet Union.
Sex workers from abroad often use the Internet to get in touch with Indian
pimps, and to send across details and their photos, police officers said.
The officers believe Delhi is fast replacing Mumbai as the favourite haunt of
the foreign sex workers. The reasons for this are varied.
"The high cost of living in Mumbai makes many foreign sex workers come to New
Delhi. In the capital, they can even afford to live in posh localities," said a
senior officer.
Many foreign sex workers also opt to stay in New Delhi because they have a
large network of established clients here.
Police officers said the sex workers often come to India on tourist visas and
operate through pimps having a clientele spread across several cities.
"The foreign sex workers charge over Rs.6,000 from customers and 50 percent of
the total earnings are pocketed by the pimps, who provide logistics like hotel
rooms, vehicles, clients and air tickets when they return home," an officer
said.
If a foreign sex worker is arrested, the pimps bail her out of jail and send
her to some other base in northern India, including hill stations.
In the past three months, Delhi Police have busted several prostitution rings
and over a dozen foreign sex workers were arrested.
One of the biggest catches was in May when five foreign sex workers and four
pimps were arrested from a hotel in Connaught Place.
The police also arrested a 32-year-old Uzbek national who lived in Anand
Niketan, a posh south Delhi neighbourhood.
Also in May, police arrested seven women from Azerbaijan from a hotel in New
Delhi's residential-cum-commercial district of Karol Bagh.
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foreigners held in South Delhi for prostitution
7-9-2004
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