Internet is a great leveller. Really? How does the net treat a woman who struggles to find her own space? Is it any safer than the real? Perverts to pimps scout the net for unsuspecting victims. Amorous chats to work-from-home offers, nothing is as innocent as it seems. Stolen photos to abusive comments, anything is a weapon against a woman in cyber space. A team of women reporters decode the virtual net that extends to the real world.
The bust of online sex rackets in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam and the related arrests of Rahul Pasupalan and wife Rashmi Nair forced Kerala to sit up and take notice of the growing presence of technology in an age-old criminal activity.
The probe into these rackets was spurred by a complaint received by the Director General of Police from a member of the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, who laid bare a racket that was putting up nude pictures of women and children on websites and Facebook pages. The arrest of the celebrity couple two weeks ago followed the initial bust several months ago.
Online rackets have been proven to be operating in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Ernakulam districts. Even girls from other districts are not any safer. Many of them have their personal details put up on websites dedicated to escort and call girl services. These online groups work in tandem, investigating officers have found out. This mafia-like network with agents in every district in Kerala has hundreds of women working for them.
These agents identify prospective clients/victims through their network and tag Facebook profiles with attractive women’s pictures to a potential client’s account as “people you may know”. This then goes on like a chain to his friends and friends’ friends.
The sex racketeers have their own WhatsApp groups. The random suspects trapped by the police are just dispensable links in this vast yet invisible net.
Hundreds of websites offering phone sex, webcam sex, sexting and couple sex chat are in business exclusively for Malayalis. Thrill-seekers can search for men or women, virgins or mature. It also lists profile by districts and by professions. Some sites even provide phone numbers of available partners in each district. Some sites have advertisements of sex-related services as well as sex chat services.
How they trawl
A plus-two student took the bait when she responded to a Facebook-suggested ad that offered her a chance to earn by working from home. She was caught by the police but granted bail. However, she refuses to face anyone, confining herself to the darkness of her room. She had to yield to the fraudsters who threatened to put up on her Facebook page a recorded phone conversation.
A Chennai native had a similar story to tell. She was arrested along with other members of the racket months ago. She was lured into the offending site with an offer to earn up to Rs 20,000 by working from home.
We came across accounts of small-scale pimps who lured in women using Facebook or WhatsApp and then presented them to others for a quick buck. There were others who presented their own lovers to friends or to a similar sex racket. These rackets operate out of private homes and flats. They charge customers a premium and then record their intimate scenes with a hidden camera. These clips also earn them money.
As the business grows, the racketeers employ hackers to collect personal details from Facebook accounts. These details are passed on to their contractors who lure in them by faking romance, the police said. The girls and women who get on their rolls can either shift to the accommodation they provide or continue living in their house as if nothing has changed. Deals with customers are fixed on WhatsApp. A customer is picked up from a specific place at a specific time. He would be dropped back too.
Some of the rackets recruit girls directly by using attractive offers as baits. Many girls volunteer to be a part of the sex rackets. There are even women and couples who run such rackets.
Three revealing conversations
‘He offered me work-from-home’
“Do you want to earn from home or at our place just by talking over the phone? Ladies, telecaller job, part time/full time, call me (number).” We spotted this ad in a classifieds website. It is on behalf of a club. We saved the number and added it on WhatsApp. A club’s logo is the profile picture. The job description clearly excludes minors from applying for the job or for membership in the club. The club even has a Facebook page.
We called up the number. Excerpts from the chat.
“Sir, I am Simi, from Kottayam.”
“Ok. I will brief you about the work. Phone talking is nothing but sexy talking, friendly, romantic and however the customer wants to. Do not ever meet the customer or pass on your personal number. The company will give you a phone number. There would be live webcam chatting. Do whatever the customer tells you on webcam. You will get the salary accordingly.”
“How much will I be paid?”
“Your pay will come to your bank account every 15 days – Rs 10,000 for 30 clients.”
“You said something about webcam chatting. Wouldn’t it be a problem for me if people saw my face on cam?”
“It is our own site. Downloads are not allowed on that. There is no feature to take a photo. There are conditions. You have to see me. I have to see the client. The client will switch on his camera first. Once he pays, you will open your camera. You can lower the cam a bit so as your face is not revealed.”
The man who took the call told us about the job in detail.
“Why don’t you start with phone talk? If that goes well the company will help you proceed to the next level by providing you facilities including a tablet. I told you…this is sexy and nudie. Treat it as any other job. You have to talk for half an hour to a customer. Everything is fixed. I will inform you if you have to do anything extra. You have to be open-minded.”
The “sir” started opening his mind. The man who insisted that there will not be any meeting with the customer, changed his tune. The caller can meet “members” of the club.
“Also, there are some other things about the club. You can meet with the members of the club. For that you have to take a membership too. It will cost you only Rs 2,000 for six months. If you face any problems at home, you can work from our office. Our office is in Bengaluru. You have to look good and sexy though. “
“Any legal dangers involved?”
“This club is registered with the Karnataka government. World Chatting Google Registered Club.”
Two days later, the “sir” asked if I were interested to work out of Bengaluru. He even assured me an appointment letter on a Karnataka government letterhead to convince my family.
This conversation was recorded before the online sex racket was busted. We tried the number after the bust too. The racketeer responded, as if nothing had happened.
No regrets
We caught with Rashmi Nair, a pivotal figure in the online sex racket busted by the police recently. She said she did not want to talk to media. The police terms her arrogant. She had attacked the policewomen who went to arrest her.
“Your family?”
“My father was in the army. Mother is a teacher. My son is in the UKG.”
“Don’t you miss your son?”
“He is with my mother. He does not insist on seeing me.”
“Your father and mother are very supportive. Aren’t they?”
Rashmi did not answer the question but her expression suggests she did not think so.
“Rahul’s father did not have anything good to say about him.”
“He is like that. He is living in the house he had given to his daughter at the time of her wedding. He had even cursed his daughter at the time of her wedding. Cannot trust him.”
Show goes on
Kochi native Joshy Joseph is suspected to be the kingpin of this racket and many like this, an investigating officer said. He is already accused of running sex rackets in Paravur and Varappuzha.
“You look different from your photo.”
“I stopped dying my hair after the Varappuzha incident.”
“How many cases have been charged against you?”
"There are many. I am an accused in the Paravur case. I was implicated in the Varappuzha case. I had run sex trade from houses rented at Tripunithura, Aluva and Palarivattom. I have cases in all these places. This is my only source of income. My son also came into this. So is his wife."
"Are you the main agent?"
“No way…there are many agents with me.”
“In this case?”
“There are many agents even in this case.”
Joshy says it all. The show goes on.
(Reporting by Sandhya Grace, K Rekha, Remya Binoy, Gayathri Muraleedharan, Neetha Naveen, Gayathri Jayaraj, T.S. Divya, Anu Mary Jacob, Sreedevi Nambiar, K.P. Safeena, Juny Joseph, K. Sreerekha, Ansu Anna Baby, Ria Joy, Linu Mol Chacko, Ninny Mary Baby and Shahala Kunjumuhammed)
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