20 top female Instagram influencers on police radar for call girl racket, prostitution

MUMBAI: A special team of anti-trafficking cops of the Mumbai police is tracking the role and activities of more than 20 top female Instagram influencers for allegedly being part of a call girl and prostitution racket.

At least 3 women from the list of top female Instagram influencers are also working as agents and pimps and directing lesser-known influencers into the call girl racket and earning a commission on their prostitution work and flesh trade.

“This is an interstate racket and the women and their pimps are using digital technology to evade arrest. Payments are made via UPI and online transactions into accounts of third parties, who could be legitimate manpower agencies to avoid detection. Women are selected via WhatsApp and anonymous Telegram groups and then the customer books a room in a 3 or 5-star hotel in the name of the influencer. Once the booking is made and the confirmation sent to the agent, the Instagram celebrity reaches the hotel on the pretext of having a meeting with the “customer”. After spending anywhere from 2-5 hours with the customer, the woman leaves the hotel. This is a big racket and we are following up on the same,” a police official familiar with the case said.

The female Instagram influencers charge anywhere from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for a few hours, the official informed.

The Delhi police special team is also tracking a similar complaint of Instagram being used to solicit models and influencers for the flesh trade. “Women post their bold videos and send the links to agents who in turn forward them to clients, a Delhi police official said.