Thaindian News

New Delhi, Feb 26 (IANS) A self-styled godman who preached spirituality while running a prostitution racket and two air hostesses were among eight people arrested for flesh trade here, police said Friday.
The eight, including two men and six women in the age group of 19 to 30 years, were taken into custody near the PVR cinema at Saket in south Delhi Thursday while travelling in two cars.

They included an air hostess who worked for an Indian carrier and another who was employed by an European airline.

The mastermind was identified as Shiv Murat Dwivedi, 39, alias Ichchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj Chitrakoot Wale.

Deputy Commissioner of Police H.G.S. Dhaliwal said that Dwivedi belonged to Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh. He came to New Delhi in 1988 and worked as a security guard at a five-star hotel in Nehru Place.

He later worked for a massage parlour at Lajpat Nagar. He was arrested for carrying out prostitution 1997 and 1998, Dhaliwal said.

“Dwivedi then changed his appearance and started calling himself Ichchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj Chitrakoot Wale. He was based at a Sai Baba temple in Badarpur and gradually started a flourishing flesh trade racket in the guise of leading a spiritual life,” he said.

Dwivedi started holding religious discourses and congregations and even got a video CD titled “Shri Sai Amrit Varsha” released. He even wrote for a magazine.

He constructed a 200-bed hospital and a huge temple in Chitrakoot.

Dhaliwal said the two air hostesses lived in posh areas of south Delhi. “One is pursuing MBA. The other is an aspiring model who wants to debut in Bollywood.”