BEFORE FESTIVAL, A JARRING NOTE: A woman shops in Srinagar for Id on Wednesday. (AP)

Srinagar, Oct. 10: Gulshan Ahmad was in despair. Her husband Gulzar had been picked up by police and the young wife didn’t know what to do.

Then one day she heard about Sabina.

Gulshan approached the “influential lady”, thinking she could help her. The meeting changed her life.

From police officers to a minister, she was taken to men in powerful positions. All of them promised to get her husband released, but in return for sex.

Somewhere along the way, as she stumbled from one man to another, the young woman lost her original identity. She came to be known as Pepsi. The transformation was complete.

As details of the sex scandal tumbled out, and the high court nailed the alleged culprits, it became increasingly clear that Gulshan and many others were exploited by top politicians, police officers and other influential men.

Gulshan, for instance, was taken by Sabina — the alleged kingpin — to senior superintendent of police Ashkoor Wani.

“He assured me help, but told me I should satisfy him. I agreed. He bolted the room from inside and had sexual intercourse with me on the sofa of his office room,” Gulshan has told investigators.

The police officer, however, said in his statement that he does not know either Sabina or Gulshan.

Sabina allegedly later took Gulshan to minister Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen. With her husband still behind bars, she approached the minister for a job.

Yaseen, the 200-page judgment says, “promised” a job but in return for sex.

The minister has denied knowing Sabina, Gulshan and another girl, Nuzhat, whom Sabina is said to have “introduced” to him. “He wanted to have sex with me but I refused. Then he wanted a beautiful girl. I took Nuzhat to his house. He later paid us Rs 5,000,” Sabina said.

Sabina said a doctor, Javed, had introduced her to the minister. Javed later told investigators that he had “introduced Sabina to the minister”.

Nelofar, a constable, approached a senior officer, deputy inspector-general Niyaz Mehmood — another accused in the case — for a job for her brother. Mehmood allegedly demanded sexual favours. “Under the circumstances, I had to compromise,” she said.

Congress MLA Yogesh Sahani is in the dock for allegedly “raping Sabina”. “I asked for a government job for my relative but he raped me,” Sabina said.