Navi Mumbai Crime: Anti-Human Trafficking Unit Busts Prostitution Racket In Panvel, Rescues 6 Women

Navi Mumbai: Anti Human Trafficking Unit has rescued six women from sex trade and booked the lodge's administration, including the manager, operator, and a waiter, after busting a prostitution racket running out of Bhushan Lodging and Boarding in the Kon area of Panvel on Thursday evening.

Based on a tip-off that women were being offered to customers for Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 at the lodge, the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit sent in a decoy customer on April 10. After confirming the information, the unit, under the guidance of Senior Police Inspector Prithviraj Ghorpade, raided the premises. “During the operation, six women were found to have been kept there for commercial sex work who were then rescued by us,” inspector Ghorpade said.

Further inquiries revealed that lodge manager Kishor Garde, operator Lokesh Devaraj Gowda, and waiter Abhilash Krishna Shetty were calling and bringing women to the lodge, coercing them into prostitution.

The police have registered a case under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA) against all three, along with another person connected to the lodge’s operations. All three accused have been detained, and the rescued women have been safely sent to shelter home. Further investigations are on.