Andhra Pradesh government orders investigation into ‘call money’ scam
Eighty people have been arrested so far, as opposition leaders disrupted the first day of the state Assembly’s proceedings.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party head Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday ordered a judicial investigation into the call money racket, which has taken the state by storm. NDTV reported that 80 people, mostly politicians, have been arrested as part of the investigation into the blackmail, extortion and sex racket.
Call money is a loan that is a mere phone call away, but which can be demanded back by lenders at any time, at extortionary rates of interest. The scam was unearthed when a woman from Vijayawada went to the police with a case of extortion. She had borrowed Rs 1.5 lakh from moneylenders, who then asked for Rs 6 lakh in return.
Police said that women were coerced into sexual exploitation as part of the racket. The issue was taken up by opposition parties on Thursday, the first day of the state Assembly’s winter session. The protesting leaders shouted slogans and disrupted proceedings, while claiming that Naidu himself is involved in the scam.
Naidu's government has promised not to spare any leaders who are caught in the scam, while the police have conducted raids across the state in connection with the case.