CHENNAI: A small-time Tamil film actor and a local politician have been arrested by the Chennai Police under the Pocso Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act for allegedly forcing a 15-year-old schoolgirl into prostitution. The girl was rescued from a lodge in Vadapalani in August, following which three others, including a woman, were initially arrested.

Police said the 60-year-old actor had taken the minor to several “clients” and sexually exploited her. Other than him and the politician, the police also arrested a construction firm employee and two women, including a friend of the victim’s mother, who played a key role in trafficking the girl.

Probe revealed that the girl, a Class 9 student, lost her father early. After her mother remarried and abandoned her, the mother’s friend — an extra in television serials — took charge of the girl and coerced her into prostitution, often sending her to clients across Chennai with her niece’s help.

In August, three Andhra Pradesh-based individuals, including a Telugu supporting actress, were also arrested in connection with the case. Police sources said the girl was lured with promises of money and a comfortable life before being exploited. She is now in a government shelter home, receiving counselling and treatment. The arrested persons were produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.

Authorities are examining the mobile phones of those arrested to identify others linked to the racket.

In a similar case last May, Chennai police busted a gang led by a 37-year-old woman who exploited her daughter’s classmates from low-income families, luring them with part-time jobs before threatening them with explicit videos.