‘Godman’ links in sex racket under probe

Punjaban,wife of slain gangster Hemant alias Sonu,has been arrested several times; she makes lakhs through the sex racket every month,the police said.

Other pimps Dwivedi was in touch with are Laila,arrested last year; Bobby,Sonu Gupta,Aman and Ritika,sources said. Police said all of them run their racket over the phone and provide girls in five-star hotels and at clients’ flats. They charge anywhere between Rs 10,000 and Rs 1 lakh from clients,the police said.

“Pimps move in their own circle. They often take girls from others’ group. Commission is paid for providing girls from somebody’s racket,” a police officer said.

Sources said Dwivedi,who has been booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act by the Delhi Police,will also be taken to Chitrakoot — he was allegedly building a temple and hospital there — in the coming days.

Police officials said the self-styled godman amassed a lot of wealth in the last few years through his racket. “He was very fond of luxury cars. In fact,his monthly personal expenses would run into lakhs,” the official said.

Sources said details of the godman’s four bank accounts revealed he only had Rs 1.25 lakh cash. “He has invested most of the money. His associations are being looked for so that his investments are located. At present,it has been found that he had a 400 yards plot in Chitrakoot and a 40-yard house in Khanpur,Delhi,” the official said.

Who is Sonu Punjaban?
According to the police,Punjaban,26,runs an inter-state prostitution racket from posh localities in the Capital. Her real name is Geeta Arora and she was last arrested in November 2008 from Saket. Incidentally,Dwivedi was also arrested from here.

Geeta’s husband Hemant,an alleged gangster,was killed in a shootout in April 2006. Her former husbands Vijay and Deepak,brothers of Hemant,were also killed in encounters.

A police official said Punjaban ran the prostitution business through the “word of mouth”.

Police said most of her girls were trafficked from Bihar,West Bengal,Orissa and Punjab; many were school dropouts.

“She used to change their looks and style of interacting with the clients. The girls were paid Rs 60,000 per month on contract. She would charge Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000 for each night,” the officer said.