By Express News Service

BHOPAL: A ruling BJP leader is among nine men arrested by State police’s cyber cell for allegedly operating an online sex racket at two rented flats in E-7 Arera Colony area here. They also claimed to have rescued four women trapped in the racket.

While nine men, including three customers, were arrested following a raid on the two flats on late Thursday night, four women in search of jobs from Maharashtra, Meghalaya and Panna (MP) were also rescued.

The arrested men (aged between 20 and 40 years), include Dinesh alias David Singh, Suresh Gahlot, Ravi Prajapati, Harjit Dhanwani, Manoj Kumar Gupta, KK Jaiswal, Suresh Belani, Miswauddin and Neeraj Shakya, said SP (Cyber Cell Bhopal) Shailendra Chouhan.

Neeraj Shakya (33), a resident of Narela area here, was appointed as State media in-charge of the ruling BJP’s scheduled caste (SC) cell in Bhopal a few days ago.

“Following his arrest by the cyber cell, State BJP president Nandkumar Singh sacked him from the party,” MP state BJP chief spokesperson Deepak Vijayvargiya confirmed to the New Indian Express.

In February, three ruling BJP cadre, including Bhopal BJP IT Cell chief Dhruv Saxena, were arrested by the State anti-terrorism (ATS) squad for running Chinese simbox enabled illegal telephone exchanges, which allegedly aided spying by Pakistan’s inter-service intelligence (ISI) in India.

Some of the illegal exchanges busted by the MP ATS in February were also running at rented flats in the posh Arera Colony, exposing how house owners flout police and administrative orders to get mandatory police verification of tenants done.

According to SP (Cyber Cell Bhopal) Shailendra Chouhan, “our team was working on the matter since three months following specific inputs about an online sex racket running in posh areas of Bhopal through a web portal.” Sustained probe revealed that those operating the racket were regularly scanning resumes/CVs of girls and women urgently needing jobs on various job portals.

The men had listed their own contact numbers on the web portal facilitating the alleged sex racket.

“The racket operators established contact with the women (mostly Class X or Class XII pass outs) across the country, as they were urgently seeking jobs. These men then convinced them to come to Bhopal. Subsequently, these girls were called to the rented flats to meet customers, who were introduced as prospective employers who would give them jobs at hotels and beauty clinics,” said Chouhan.

The kingpin of the racket, Subhash alias Veer Dwivedi, who hails from Satna district in MP and has in the past worked as a manager in many hotels here is absconding.

While three customers of the alleged online sex racket identified as Harjit Dhanwani, Suresh Belani and Miswauddin are into mining operations and apparel business, the six racket operators include college students, mining businessman and a farmer.

Arrested BJP leader Neeraj Shakya was supplying sand to builders. “The nine arrested men will be produced before court later in the day. We’ll request the court for custody of some of them, as their detailed questioning is essential for further progress and the arrest of the kingpin,” said Chouhan.