Bengaluru, Apr 8 (IANS): In a major crackdown, the Karnataka police have busted a human trafficking racket with arrest of seven persons. The City Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths have rescued 17 women who have been all set to be transported to Dubai.

The police have gathered information on 95 women being sent to Dubai and seized 17 passports.

The accused persons used to trap junior artists by luring them of earning handsome money in lakhs per month. They also lured the girls who worked in event management companies.

The accused provided Rs 50,000 as advance money and helped them get Visa to Dubai and sent them there. The gang targeted women from the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab.

The accused had connections with the owners of dance bars in Dubai. Once the girls landed in Dubai they were forced to perform in dance bars. Later, the dance bar owners forced them to attract customers and entertain them.

If the girls refuse to do so, they were tortured mentally and physically. The victims were asked to return the advance money immediately. As girls would exhaust money taken as an advance, they were forced to continue with the job.

One of the victims who got trapped with the gang had approached Hennur police station in Bengaluru and lodged a complaint. Later, considering the seriousness of the case, it was handed over to the CCB for further investigation.

The police have arrested three accused from Karnataka and four from Tamil Nadu.

The arrested are identified as Basavaraju Shankarappa Kalasad (43) a junior artiste from Koppal, Adarsha a.k.a Adi (28), a dancer from Mysuru, Rajendra Nachimuttu (32) from Salem in Tamil Nadu, Mariyappan (44) an artist agent from Chennai, Chandu (20) from Bengaluru, T. Ashok (29) from Pondicherry and S. Rajiv Gandhi (35) from Tiruvallur in Tamil Nadu.

Further investigation is on.