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Sex, scandal and Srinagar
Published on Sun, Jun 18, 2006 at 19:10, Updated on Sun, Jun 18, 2006 at 22:12 in India section
Tags: Kashmir, Srinagar Lifting The Veil , Srinagar
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Srinagar: Thirty-year-old Mushtaq Ahmed spends his days brooding over his family’s humiliation. Last month, his niece's wedding was called off after the groom’s family abruptly refused the match. The reason: Mushtaq's family lives in Srinagar’s Habba Kadal area which has suddenly become notorious for a prostitution racket.
Two months ago, a racket involving girls as young as 15 was busted at a house in Habba Kadal. The racket allegedly had the patronage of politicians, bureaucrats and high-ranking officials law enforcement agencies. Since then, several weddings have been called off and life has changed life for every one living in the winding by-lanes of Habba Kadal.
Like in other places, prostitution does exist in Kashmir but the magnitude of the Habba Kadal racket and the fact that it operated in the heart of Srinagar has shocked Kashmir's conservative society.
As many as 43 girls, most of them minors, were used and the clients included some of the biggest names in Kashmir's political, bureaucratic and defence circles. Documents of an internal police enquiry available with CNN-IBN clearly show that the clients, some of whom are now in police custody, belonged to the highest echelons of power.
Police say most of the girls came from poor families and were lured into prostitution by promises of government jobs. After being coerced into having sex with powerful clients, the girls were then blackmailed through pictures and videos.
In fact, it was one such CD that led to the racket being exposed. People who saw the film recognised one of the girls as a resident of their locality. The police was informed and the young girl, Yasmeen, was questioned. Police have now prepared a list of 43 women who were involved in the racket.
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