Two Punjab ministers and a Congress MLA, who visited Gujarat for electioneering during the assembly polls last December, have been named in a 'sex racket' busted by the police, Gujarat Minister of State for Home Amit Shah announced on Sunday.
At a hurriedly-called press conference in Ahmedabad , Shah said the three Congressmen -- Pratap Singh Bajwa and Amarjeet Singh Samra (both ministers) and Arvinder Singh Lovely (MLA) -- stayed in a five star hotel during the course of the election campaign in the city and allegedly indulged in 'immoral' activities.
"The car driver, who was with the three Congressmen, during interrogation revealed their names in the sex scandal," he said.
"The names of the ministers have not been mentioned in the FIR as it was based on the statement of a witness," Shah said.
A Crime Branch team led by Joint Commissioner P P Pandey and along with his deputy D G Vanjhara conducted surprise raids at the hotels based on specific information regarding the immoral flesh trade.
They identified Neeraj Shah, who is currently in jail for financial frauds over Rs 15 million (Rs 1.50 crore), as the person who paid the hotel bills of the Congress ministers and also provided them with flight tickets, the minister said.
Necessary legal action would be initiated against all those involved after a detailed probe is conducted and concrete evidence gathered, the minister said.
He said five persons, including an employee of the hotel identified as Ajit George Christian, allegedly the main racketeer, were arrested in the wee hours on Sunday.
The home department has booked four persons, including a woman, under PASA, Shah said.
The crime branch was on the hunt for one more hotel employee who is reportedly the 'coordinator' of the 'sex racket', he added.
Meanwhile, when contacted General Manager Darius Merchant confirmed that the Congress ministers did indeed stay at the Taj Ummed, but dismissed the allegations against the hotel and its employees as 'baseless'.
"Our hotel is not involved in any illegal trade at all. Ummed Singh Champavat's (the hotel owner) personal assistant Ajit George Christian is innocent," he insisted.
During the last fortnight, Shah said the home department had raided 22 hotels in the city allegedly involved in the flesh trade.
The minister said the accused, including some women from Mumbai and Bangalore, had been booked under various sections of the Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act.