The controversial Kiss of Love campaign took place earlier this year to protest against alleged incidents of moral policing in the state.
Thiruvananthapuram:
The controversial Kiss of Love event organised in Kerala some months ago was meant to be a fight against moral policing. Now, two of its organisers -- Rahul Pashupalan and his wife -- have been arrested for allegedly running an online sex racket which involved minors.
Police say they acted as facilitators between the clients and brokers.
The Kerala police have also arrested six people for the sex racket. Four others have also been arrested. Two minors, brought from Bangalore, who were tracked from the beginning by the police, have been rescued and presented before the Child Welfare Committee.
"Two minors were brought for flesh trade and we arrested the gang of six at the Cochin airport. We were tracking the two children right from the beginning. Rahul Pashupalan used the pictures of his model wife to attract pimps," said S Sreejith, the senior police officer who headed the operation.
Coded "Operation Big Daddy", the racket came to the notice of the police while it was investigating a case of a child pornography website operated by Keralite living in the Middle-East.
The police arrested another six people for managing and posting obscene comments on the website.
"Busting this gang doesn't mean crimes like this would reduce. In fact when we contacted the brokers in disguise, they said they had any number of children required and it would depend on the money being offered," Mr Sreejith said.
The controversial "Kiss of Love" campaign took place earlier this year to protest against alleged incidents of moral policing in the state.
A group of Facebook users had come up with the idea after Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha volunteers allegedly vandalized a hotel in Kozhikode, alleging that immoral activities were going on there.
Couples were asked to gather on Valentine's Day to give public displays of affection.
But the police cracked down on the campaign, taking protesters into preventive custody to maintain law and order.
Police say they acted as facilitators between the clients and brokers.
The Kerala police have also arrested six people for the sex racket. Four others have also been arrested. Two minors, brought from Bangalore, who were tracked from the beginning by the police, have been rescued and presented before the Child Welfare Committee.
"Two minors were brought for flesh trade and we arrested the gang of six at the Cochin airport. We were tracking the two children right from the beginning. Rahul Pashupalan used the pictures of his model wife to attract pimps," said S Sreejith, the senior police officer who headed the operation.
Coded "Operation Big Daddy", the racket came to the notice of the police while it was investigating a case of a child pornography website operated by Keralite living in the Middle-East.
The police arrested another six people for managing and posting obscene comments on the website.
"Busting this gang doesn't mean crimes like this would reduce. In fact when we contacted the brokers in disguise, they said they had any number of children required and it would depend on the money being offered," Mr Sreejith said.
The controversial "Kiss of Love" campaign took place earlier this year to protest against alleged incidents of moral policing in the state.
A group of Facebook users had come up with the idea after Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha volunteers allegedly vandalized a hotel in Kozhikode, alleging that immoral activities were going on there.
Couples were asked to gather on Valentine's Day to give public displays of affection.
But the police cracked down on the campaign, taking protesters into preventive custody to maintain law and order.
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