Budding actors fall prey to fake casting directors in Kolkata

KOLKATA: Two separate arrests made by Kolkata Police and CID have laid bare the growing trend of fraudsters and traffickers holding fake photo sessions posing as casting directors to exploit budding actors. Some women were also allegedly pushed into sex trade through pubs located on the fringes of the city.
CID sleuths have rescued a young woman, daughter of a bank manager from Dum Dum, who was kept confined inside a room in central Kolkata by three bar dancers.All three have been arrested. According to sleuths, the woman had left home on May 16 for a photo shoot but did not return. The first missing report was lodged with Dum Dum police. When there was no progress, CID was contacted. The sleuths checked her Facebook profile and found how she had contacted a bar dancer. A raid was accordingly conducted at a central Kolkata hotel and the three accused were arrested. During questioning, the trio told cops that they tried to push the survivor into sex trade.
In the other incident, the Regent Park police have arrested one Subhas Nandi (27), a resident of Baruipur, for allegedly running a fake production house. "The accused kept a record of several aspiring actors in his laptop. He used to call them up and inform them about upcoming photo shoots. The girls were told to carry ornaments with them for the auditions. When the survivors would turn up, he would pick them up in a car and ask them to get a final make-up near a Tollygunge studio. As the women got off, the accused fled with the valuables," said DC (south suburban) Santosh Pandey.
"We have been told by casting directors that Kolkata along with Bhopal and Indore have become a happy hunting ground of the fraudsters. We would appeal to everyone to check the letter of authorization issued by the production houses to these casting directors," said a senior CID official.
Some women were also allegedly pushed into sex trade through pubs located on the fringes of the city. Kolkata along with Bhopal and Indore have become a happy hunting ground of the fake casting directors.