AP Police bust 'call-money' racket

Police have arrested 10 people and booked cases against seven, including ruling TDP leaders, in the case of a trust that lent loans to women in dire need and pushed them into slave trade when they couldn’t repay the money with exorbitant interest.

The “call-money” racket came to light following a compliant by a woman. The victim had sought help of the trust in Vijayawada to pay college tuition fee of her daughter.

She ended up in the financier’s bed when she couldn’t pay. Her misery did not end there as she found that the finance mafia had also pushed her daughter into high class prostitution.

Unable to bear the harassment by the goons of the financier, the lady finally complained to the Vijayawada Commissioner of Police Gautam Sawang who pressed a task force into action.

Rs 600-cr business

The task force arrested 10 prominent persons of the commercial capital of Andhra Pradesh and stumbled upon a major call money racket which has a turnover of Rs 600 crore per year.

The gang dictates that if one takes a loan of Rs 80,000, they have to return Rs 1 lakh by night and the amount to return on call increases in leaps and bounds.

Rama (name changed) who took a loan from the trust ended up losing her land as she failed to repay the amount in time.

The call money group, which allegedly has the support of several legislators from ruling and Opposition parties, not only used bouncers to beat up the victims but also forced them to be their sex slaves.

“I was raped and the video was circulated. I tried to commit suicide as my husband came to know about it,” one of the victims who took a petty loan from the trust said.

Another victim told the police that the financier used to bring victims to her home and she used to let them use her house without the knowledge of her husband.
With the number of victims running in thousands, the task force has so far arrested 10 members of the gang and said the search was on for 70 more.

Cases were booked against seven people, including TDP leaders Pendyala Srikanth, Doodala Rajesh and Venigalla Srikanth, Electricity Department Divisional Engineer Satyananad, Yalamachili Ramu, Bhavani Shankar. Meanwhile, the YSRC and CPM demanded a high level inquiry into the racket. YSR Congress said the racket has the backing of the ruling TD leaders.