Lahore: Police crack down on brothels in Data Darbar area

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Adnan Lodhi
LAHORE: The city police has been ordered to eradicate brothels from the area around Data Darbar prior to the annual urs ceremony that will be held on February 14, Daily Times learnt on Wednesday.

According to police sources, a woman named Almas Bibi complained to Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif about some influential people, who had abducted two of her daughters and were forcing them into prostitution. On the directives of the CM, police raided the hotel, recovered the woman’s daughters, and found more girls who were found to be a part of the same business.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) (Operations) Chaudhry Shafique ordered the Lower Mall Police to arrest those involved in the brothel business. The police has been instructed to ensure that no such activities occur during the days of the event. Lower Mall Police Station House Officer Syed Sabteen Shah confirmed the allegations of prevalence of prostitution in the locality, and said there were around 12 hotels in the locality around Data Darbar that were involved in the business. The police have started conducting scheduled checks on the hotels to crack down on the business, he disclosed.

Naveed Qadri, a shopkeeper of the locality, said some hotels of the area were known to be havens for criminals. He said they not only provided shelter to criminals but also ran brothels. The police has never taken action against them in the past, he asserted. He said the hotels were involved in various cases of narcotics, and other criminal acts, adding the police was fully aware of these activities and the culprits involved.

Police sources disclosed that in the days of the urs, the business of brothels was at its peak. He said several prostitutes who had been arrested in the past belonged to the areas of Taxali and Bazaar-e-hussan.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg13_8