Tollywood drug-sex racket bust: Actresses get bail

The Hyderabad police have claimed to have busted a high-profile prostitution racket and arrested eight persons, including two Telugu film actresses, and a woman from Uzbekistan.

The other arrested include four men and a woman, who have been accused of running the racket, police said.

The actresses, who were arrested on charge of indulging in flesh trade, were later released on personal bail and recommended for counselling.

The remaining six were remanded to judicial custody till September. 3. The ninth accused, Janardhan alias Johny, is absconding.

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The two actresses have been identified as Saira Banu, who has played the lead role in few Telugu films, and Jyoti, who has featured as a supporting actress in many films.

While the police has not revealed the identities of those arrested, reports suggest that a woman from Uzbekistan as well as customers were held when the commissioner's task force raided an apartment in the upscale Kundan Bagh neighbourhood in the wee hours of Monday.

Kundan Bagh is a high-security area with houses of ministers, bureaucrats and VIPs.

Sources suggest that the involvement of the high and mighty in the racket cannot be ruled out.

Panjagutta Inspector of Police Ashok Chakravathy said they had recorded the statements of the actresses, who reportedly confessed to being "sex workers", while the Uzbek woman, picked up from the same house, was being questioned.

So far she has not been able to tell the purpose of her visit to India.

The woman has also not produced proper documents, the police officer said.

The persons accused of running the racket are related to Tollywood (Telugu film industry) in some way or the other as some of them were working as technicians, Chakravathy said.

A case has been registered and further investigations were on, he added.

On August 20, police had busted a drug racket and arrested four persons, including two brothers of a popular Telugu actor.

Police had claimed that some Tollywood personalities were being supplied cocaine.