The woman, K Nadhiya, asked her daughter to bring her classmates and befriended them. She targeted middle- and lower middle class families with a grand design in her mind. Police had received a tip off about a prostitution racket involving school going girls and teens and kept a watch.

On May 18 anti vice-squad team of Greater Chennai police, headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police Rajalakshmi and inspector Selvarani, raided a lodge in Chennai and rescued two girls aged 18 and 17. Police arrested Nadhiya and six pimps who are identified as Ramachandran, Sumathi, Maya Oli, Jayashree, and Ramachandran all from different parts of Chennai and Ashok Kumar of Coimbatore. Police seized seven cell phones and a car from the arrested persons.

According to police, Nadhiya had lured the girls by joining her dance classes for free and teaching them a beauty course, as it would help them earn money during their free time as a part time job. Without knowing her clandestine design, they joined her classes. After gaining their confidence and knowing financial crisis or needs, she would target them and lure them with cash of Rs 25000 to Rs 35,000.

The mastermind coached them to tell their parents with false or concoct lies and reasons for their absence over night or for days ,whenever the teens needed to go to other cities with her clients or to stay overnight at her house. Preliminary enquiries by the police showed that some of her clients had taken the teenage girls to Hyderabad and Delhi.