A woman and six of her associates were arrested on Monday in Chennai for allegedly pushing her daughter's classmates into prostitution.
According to reports, Anti-Vice Squad (AVS) of Chennai Police, acting on a tip-off, raided a lodge in Valasaravakkam and rescued two girls aged 17 and 18 and arrested seven people.
The main accused in the case, 37-year-old K Nadhiya, targeted the classmates of her daughter who are from low-income families. She befriended them on the pretext of teaching them dance and beautician courses, telling them that they could earn money part-time while studying.
Nadhiya lured the girls into prostitution promising them amounts of Rs 25,000- Rs 30,000. Her clients were not only in Chennai but also in Delhi, Coimbatore, and Hyderabad. Nadhiya even taught the girls to cook up stories to convince their parents whenever they had to travel to other cities, the police said.
Nadhiya used to select her clients through social media platforms. Some of the clients were elderly men from Coimbatore and Hyderabad who were willing to pay more for schoolgirls, police added.
If any girl wanted to stop this work after some time, Nadhiya threatened to reveal their videos with the clients to their parents, the police said.
The arrested individuals were presented before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.