06 | September | 2014

. By T.V. Antony Raj

On Sunday, August 31, 2014, the Hyderabad police apprehended 23-year-old actress Shweta Basu Prasad, a National award-winner, for her involvement in a high-profile prostitution racket.

Shweta Basu Prasad (Source: indiatvnews.com)

Shweta Basu began her career as a child actress in TV shows such as ‘Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki‘ and ‘Karishma Ka Karishma‘. Later on she acted in many Bollywood films, including ‘Makdee‘, ‘Darna Zaroori Hai‘ and ‘Iqbal‘.

In 2002, Shweta Basu won the National Award for the Best Child Artist for acting in the film Makdee.

Later on, she became a popular actress in Tamil, Telugu and Bengali films.

Shweta Basu Ptrasad (Source: deccanchronicle.com)

Shweta Basu’s involvement in prostitution came to light on Sunday morning when an anonymous person tipped off the police about a high-profile prostitution racket involving Shweta Basu. On receiving the tip off, the police raided a reputed hotel at Banjara Hills in Hyderabad and caught the actress red-handed consorting with some highly-connected businessmen.

Anjaneyulu alias Balu the organizer of the prostitution racket was also arrested. Balu, was reportedly collecting rupees one lakh each from his high profile clients.

The police took all into immediate custody and they expect more would be revealed once interrogations and police questioning begins.

On Monday, the court where Shweta Basu was produced sent her to a rescue home run by the Women and Child Welfare Department.

The actress underwent a medical examination at a government hospital before being sent to the rescue home, where women rescued by police and those facing trial are given shelter during the trial period. The inmates are provided free food, clothing, medical care and vocational training. Shwetha Basu is likely to stay in the rescue home or three months.

The police sources quoted Shweta Basu:

“I was out of money. I had to support my family and some other good causes. All the doors were closed, and some people encouraged me to get into prostitution to earn money. I was helpless, and with no option left to choose, I got involved in these acts.”

After Shweta Basu’s arrest, her fans and the public started analyzing the situation on the internet. Many wonder why the police identified only the actress and not the businessmen who were with her at the time of the raid. The public want to know why the police who normally protect the identity of women caught for prostitution had publicized the name of the actress, and for what purpose.

Several actors including Aditi Rao Hydari and Upen Patel have come forward to speak up for Shweta.

Aditi tweeted:

“A girl is in the news and in prison for prostitution, why not her high profile clients? We are so damn sexist… #Pathetic.”

Upen Patel tweeted:

“Breaks my heart about Shweta Prasad. Remember meeting her when she was a little girl in Iqbal .. Great actress..I’m know she will bounce bck (sic).”

Film Director Hansal Mehta urged the authorities to “expose” the “clients” of the actress. He tweeted.

“I intend to offer Shweta Prasad a role in my next film. She was so good in ‘Makdee’.“

“Stop posting pictures of Shweta. Put out the pictures of her wealthy clients and the pimp. Expose the sc****gs, not the soft target.“

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