Texas: US police arrest 7 Indians including 5 of Telugu origin for solicitation of prostitution

Texas: Seven Indian nationals, including five of Telugu origin, have been arrested in Texas for solicitation of prostitution, with one of them being charged with soliciting a minor under the age of 18.

Reports said that some of the arrested are students studying in the US.

The Indians among the accused are Bandi Nikhil, Galla Monish, Nikhil, Mekala Jaikiran Reddy, Rayapati Karthik, Kumar Amit, and Shresta Nabin.

On August 14 and 15, 2024, the Denton County Sheriff's Office executed a "Prostitution Demand Suppression Operation" in Denton, Texas. The Operation was designed to suppress Prostitution in our community by arresting offenders attempting to purchase sexual favors for money.

During the operation, 14 persons were arrested on the charge of Solicitation of Prostitution which is a State Jail Felony. Two persons were arrested on the charge of Solicitation of Prostitution under 18 which is a 2"d Degree Felony. Two persons were also arrested on the additional charge of Unlawful Carrying Weapon. Three persons were also arrested on the charge of Evading Arrest Detention.

Leads on other persons engaging in Prostitution were also developed and followed up on by the Denton County Sheriff's Office Human Trafficking Unit.

Similar case in July 2024

It may be recalled that in July 2024, police in Princeton of Texas charged four persons of Telugu origin of human trafficking after they rescued 15 women who were forced to work for the shell companies owned by the accused.

According to the Princeton police, the incident came to light on March 13 when a pest control company alerted the police after observing three to five young women sleeping on the floor. Officers who were dispatched to a house in Ginsburg Lane for a welfare check reported a “suspicious environment”.

Police found that 15 women were forced to work for shell companies owned by Santhosh Katkoori (31), his wife Dwaraka Gunda (31), and their associates Chandan Dasireddy (24) and Anil Male (37).

Indian Doctor Arrested In US:

In another incident, a 40-year-old Indian doctor Oumair Aejaz from Michigan was charged with multiple sex crimes after taking thousands of nude photos through hidden cameras.

As per reports, Oumair Aejaz was arrested earlier on August 8 after he allegedly placed hidden cameras in a variety of settings from bathrooms, changing areas, hospital rooms, and even his own home where he would record children as young as 2 years old in varying states of undress. Authorities became aware of his offences after his wife came forward with the disturbing material.

According to the Oakland County Sheriff, he allegedly recorded sexual encounters with numerous women who were unconscious or asleep. A single hard drive had 13,000 videos on it, and he is also suspected to have uploaded videos into cloud storage.

“The victimization is so broad and the perversion so great, we're just beginning to wrap our arms around it. Disturbing on so many levels," the official said.

The Indian citizen had moved to the US in 2011 on a work visa and finished his residency at the Sinai Grace Hospital. He currently works as a physician contracted with a company that would send him to different hospitals.