Social escorts
2 Feb 2014 10:05 PM GMT
While the police claim to have tightened the noose around flesh trade in Delhi, social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are being used by escort services and call girls to connect with high-end clients in the national capital without any obstacles.
An investigation by Millennium Post has revealed that many escort services have opened their accounts on social networking sites to expand their business.
Normally, escort services solicit business through newspaper advertisements. The advantage with the sites is that they can reach their target group without forking out even a single penny in terms of advertisement costs.
For instance, Escorts in Delhi, an escort service, has many followers on Facebook. It has given a contact person’s phone numbers so that clients can fix deals.
‘We supply high-profile women to clients within an hour in hotels in Mahipalpur, Delhi,’ claimed Kunal of Delhi Escorts. According to him, the ‘service charges’ range from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 and further claimed that he ‘supplies’ foreign nationals too. To attract clients, escort agencies have uploaded pictures and slides of their girls.
According to a police official, those in the trade find it easy to open accounts on social networking sites rather than opening their own websites. Despite the fact that publishing obscene material or transmitting it in electronic form is punishable under Section 67 of the Indian IT Act-2000, it continues unabated.
‘A person or company engaged in uploading objectionable or obscene material can face imprisonment up to three years, besides a fine of Rs 5 lakh,’ said Pavan Duggal, a well known cyber law expert told Millennium Post. He further said that according to the IT Act 67(a) if some one sexual exploits uploaded material on social site then they may face the 5 year imprisonment with a fine of Rs 10 lakh. This is a non bailable offence.
Also according to the IT Act 67(b) if someone uploads a pornograph material related to children (under the age of 18) or even surfs it on Internet, he or she would be entitled to five year imprisonment and Rs 20 lakh fine, said Duggal.
Although the police had said they would monitor even social networking sites to curb proliferation of obscene content, such sites offer a convenient platform for those involved in flesh trade. Delhi police on the other hand said that they take action against such agencies. ‘We take action against such people as per the law. We have a expertise of IT professionals who deal with the such crime,’ said Rajan Bhagat, Delhi police spokesperson.
An investigation by Millennium Post has revealed that many escort services have opened their accounts on social networking sites to expand their business.
Normally, escort services solicit business through newspaper advertisements. The advantage with the sites is that they can reach their target group without forking out even a single penny in terms of advertisement costs.
For instance, Escorts in Delhi, an escort service, has many followers on Facebook. It has given a contact person’s phone numbers so that clients can fix deals.
‘We supply high-profile women to clients within an hour in hotels in Mahipalpur, Delhi,’ claimed Kunal of Delhi Escorts. According to him, the ‘service charges’ range from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 and further claimed that he ‘supplies’ foreign nationals too. To attract clients, escort agencies have uploaded pictures and slides of their girls.
According to a police official, those in the trade find it easy to open accounts on social networking sites rather than opening their own websites. Despite the fact that publishing obscene material or transmitting it in electronic form is punishable under Section 67 of the Indian IT Act-2000, it continues unabated.
‘A person or company engaged in uploading objectionable or obscene material can face imprisonment up to three years, besides a fine of Rs 5 lakh,’ said Pavan Duggal, a well known cyber law expert told Millennium Post. He further said that according to the IT Act 67(a) if some one sexual exploits uploaded material on social site then they may face the 5 year imprisonment with a fine of Rs 10 lakh. This is a non bailable offence.
Also according to the IT Act 67(b) if someone uploads a pornograph material related to children (under the age of 18) or even surfs it on Internet, he or she would be entitled to five year imprisonment and Rs 20 lakh fine, said Duggal.
Although the police had said they would monitor even social networking sites to curb proliferation of obscene content, such sites offer a convenient platform for those involved in flesh trade. Delhi police on the other hand said that they take action against such agencies. ‘We take action against such people as per the law. We have a expertise of IT professionals who deal with the such crime,’ said Rajan Bhagat, Delhi police spokesperson.
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