Mumbai:
A 19-year-old girl had a narrow escape after she heard her boyfriend having a conversation with a stranger at Kamathipura, Mumbai's Red Light Area.
The girl, a nurse, had accompanied her boyfriend Sameer Mohammed Ali Shaikh, on Monday to meet Shaikh's parents and seek their approval for marriage. But to her horror she discovered that Shaikh had conned her into accompanying him to a brothel, and was brokering a deal to sell her off into the flesh trade.
The girl fled the spot and reported the incident to the police. "In her statement, the girl said that when she was waiting for Shaikh she overheard him speaking to a pimp. She said that Shaikh was trying to sell her off to the pimp for Rs 50,000," said Rajendra Thakur, senior police inspector of Kasturba Marg police station.
She fled from the brothel and reported the matter to the DB Marg police station.
The DB Marg police then nabbed the man and handed him over the Kasturba Marg police station.
"We have registered a case of kidnapping and rape against the man," said Thakur.
After his arrest, the police are now investigating if Shaikh had lured more girls and sold them off by promising wedlock.
How they metThe girl, a resident of Bhiwandi, said that she had received a wrong number on her mobile phone about three months ago. However, the man (Shaikh) began calling persistently and soon began flirting with her over the phone. The two began chatting regularly, and met frequently at a bus stop in Borivli
Soon, Shaikh began to take her to hotels and guesthouses near Aksa Beach and exploited her. He had promised to marry her, and the girl did not suspect any foul play. On Monday, Shaikh asked the girl to accompany him to Grant Road to meet his parents. When she reached the place, she realised to her horror that her boyfriend was cracking a deal to sell her into the flesh trade.