Accused used to visit city pubs,recruit girls: Cops

Babulal Verma,a railway employee arrested for allegedly running a prostitution racket out of a railway rest house in Marine Lines,would frequent pubs where he would make acquaintance with and ultimately recruit girls,police said on Monday.

Babulal Verma,a railway employee arrested for allegedly running a prostitution racket out of a railway rest house in Marine Lines,would frequent pubs where he would make acquaintance with and ultimately recruit girls,police said on Monday.

We have so far identified four pubs – Eclipse in CST,Pulse in Bandra,Madness in Khar and Blazer in Santacruz – that Verma said he visited often. We will make inquiries with the owners and management at these establishments, said senior inspector Avinash Sonawane,LT Marg police station.

Verma was handed over to LT Marg police on Sunday by Social Service Branch,which had conducted the raid.

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Police have found a diary with names and contact numbers of 16 girls in it and all the numbers are switched off. Police have requested registration details of all the numbers.

Police will contact the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Surat to find out more about the investigations that they were conducting against Verma in 1999,before his transfer to Mumbai.

We will try to find out why Verma was never arrested. Railway authorities will also be contacted to find out what action was taken against him. His past professional record is unclear, said a police officer.

Officers said Verma said he remained uncooperative during questioning on Monday and only revealed a few details after lengthy,sustained interrogation.

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Inquiries indicate that Verma has been active for the past four-five years and we are verifying this, Sonawane said.

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