Who is Kalyani Deshpande, Pune’s most notorious sex racketeer?

Police officials in the know believe Kalyani was a part of the sex trade in Pune since the 90s. But her name only made it to Pune city police records in 2000. Born and raised in a local family, Kalyani became notorious as a top pimp in Pune and was booked in about 24 criminal cases.

Police sources said Kalyani’s operations were wider than her male counterparts like Ajay Patil, Shakti Thapa, Mangesh Rudraksha and Raju Bengali.

Kalyani allegedly operated an escort agency named ‘Venus Escorts’ from her bungalow in Pune’s Sus area. A resident of Pashan said that Kalyani’s bungalow on Sus Road was well known for the sex trade and crimes. In December 2007, her close aide Anil Dhole was murdered at this bungalow. Dhole allegedly worked as an agent to bring call girls from Mumbai for prostitution. Even after Dhole’s death, Kalyani’s activities grew and she allegedly managed to supply girls from different parts of the country and abroad for prostitution in Pune and other areas.

Kalyani had allegedly developed a strong network among hoteliers and organised crime syndicates. She is known to have a huge customer base, including some high-profile clients, and was arrested on multiple occasions in the past. She was also booked in a criminal case in Mumbai.

Kalyani was first booked under MCOCA after her name cropped up in connection with the murder of a sex worker at a hotel on the outskirts of Pune in December 2005. A First Information Report (FIR) in this case was lodged at Haveli police station but she was discharged from MCOCA and later acquitted too.

On March 31, 2012, the Hinjewadi police had arrested Kalyani in a flesh trade case. And in April, the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had arrested Inspector Balsaheb Surve and Constable Mohammed Hanif Abbas Shaikh of Hinjewadi police station for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 40,000 from Kalyani’s cousin Jatin Chawda for not demanding an extension in her police custody at the court. Kalyani managed to come out on bail in this case.

Every time after being released on bail, Kalyani allegedly continued to operate her sex racket right under the nose of the police. The Indian Express reporters have seen her operating at a prominent hotel in the Shivajinagar area while she was out on bail some years before.

Police sources said that Kalyani had tried “image building” activities like announcing a film based on her life. She had even claimed that this film was being shot in Pune, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, but did not reveal the title. While the film never saw the light of day, she said the police were trying to exploit her and she wanted to tell the world how she was forced into the flesh trade.

Kalyani reportedly told police during interrogation that she hailed from a common family and got married to an auto-rickshaw driver. She told police that an urgent need for money for her family had drawn her into the sex racket trade, sources said.

In April 2012, ahead of the birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar, Kalyani had put up banners in some parts of the city to show her interest in social work. Banners carried her photograph alongside Dr Ambedkar’s image.

Things, however, changed for Kalyani after a Crime Branch team led by Inspector Sanjay Nikam busted a sex racket at a Bhusari Colony apartment in Kothrud in July 2016. The police found two girls from Uzbekistan and three others allegedly involved in prostitution at this spot, allegedly as per Kalyani’s instructions. An FIR was lodged at the Kothrud police station and the police initially arrested Kalyani’s aides Pradip Gavali and Ravi Tapase. In August, she too was arrested under sections of the PITA.

The same year, in October, then Pune police commissioner Rashmi Shukla sanctioned a proposal to invoke MCOCA against Kalyani for running an organised sex racket. Special judge S R Navandar has convicted Kalyani and her aides in this case.