New Delhi, aug 31 (Agencies) : The Delhi Police have arrested a couple and six others for allegedly running the biggest trafficking and prostitution racket in the Capital’s red light area, GB Road.

With the routes of the alleged syndicate stretching all the way to Nepal and pecuniary gains made by the couple Affaq Husain and Saira running into crores, the Delhi Police Crime Branch have slapped the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against them, the first such case in GB Road.

Together, the two made properties estimated to be worth nearly Rs.100 crore from the illegal business, said the police. This includes houses in Delhi and Bangalore and even a school which the two run in the name of their daughter, the police added.

Saira, who had herself been trafficked by her first husband Talab Husain (now deceased), has been in the trafficking trade longer than Affaq. In the past 26 years, the couple have trafficked over 5,000 girls from Nepal and West Bengal. In GB Road, they run six kothas, including the biggest — number 64.

“In order to hide his criminal activities, Affaq had handed over the management of the kothas of GB Road in the name of managers and wardens, including Shamshad, Mumtaz, Shilpa alias Tulsi and Pooja. All these warden helped him with the management of the kothas . Affaq used to pay them 15 per cent of the earnings for their roles. Sarfraz alias Billi provided muscle power to the business,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav.

This network and two others account for nearly 80 per cent of the flesh trade at GB Road and slapping of MCOCA instead of the conventional IPC or Immoral Trafficking Act will ensure better deterrence, said the police. The women the couple target are sold to kotha owners at GB Road for nearly Rs.2 lakh.

“The victims are thrashed, confined in hidden cells, intoxicated and kept starved for many days to force them in this activity. While the victims are compelled to live in hell-like circumstances, their distressed family members keep running from pillar to post to trace them. The girls are paid meagre amount once the amount spent on buying them, along with interest at the rate of eight to 10 per cent per month, is recovered from their earnings,” added Mr. Yadav.

The price they would fetch from clients, mostly truck drivers or visitors who come to hardware shops in the area, are anywhere between Rs.300 and Rs.500. The daily earnings from all six kothas for the couple was nearly Rs.10 lakh. The six others arrested helped the couple run this illegal business.