Thane: Police Bust Prostitution Racket, Arrest Thai Woman, Rescue 3 Citizens

Thane: The Anti-Human Trafficking Cell of Thane police has busted a prostitution racket, arrested a Thai national woman, and rescued three Thai national women citizens in Thane. The police said that based on a tip-off, a raid was conducted at a Thane-based hotel on June 21.

A decoy customer was sent to a hotel and raided at a hotel in Wagale Estate in Thane. The accused has been identified as Salika Udom Vabanglab, 44, a resident of Thailand.

A case was lodged under sections 370(2) (Whoever commits the offence of trafficking shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years, but which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine) and 370(3) (Where the offence involves the trafficking of more than one person, it shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine) of the Indian Penal Code and under relevant sections of the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act.

The police said that the accused Salika was arrested on June 21. Two teams were formed, and one team was scanning her documents. They found that she had bogus Aadhar and PAN card. During the interrogation, she revealed that her documents was sent by Bagdi Abdullah Mughead Sad, a resident of Pune, and originally belonged to Yemen.

According to police, one team was dispatched to Pune and arrested Bagdi Abdullah on June 25. The police said that upon checking the passport and visa of both accused, they found that it had expired and they were living in India without any appropriate documents.

The police booked a case under Section 14(A)(C) of the Foreigners Act and relevant sections 467 (Forgery of valuable security and will), 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating), 471(Using as genuine a forged document or electronic record),and 34 (Common Intention) of the Indian Penal Code. The police were investigating the matter, and they might have suspected that more persons was involved in the business.

Maloji Shinde, Senior Police Inspector of Anti-Extortion at Thane Police, said, "During the investigation, we found that Salika and Bagdi are lovers and they lived in Pune before. Salika came here three years ago. She lived in Andheri and operated a prostitution racket from home. Both managed to get bogus Aadhar cards and PAN cards and opened a bank account. The accused have revealed that they used to lure customers in Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Lonavala, Goa, and other places via social media, and the girls were sent to entertain the clients. Abdullah has been sent to police custody for further investigation."

According to the police, they are now trying to find out how many women and girls were trapped in the tentacles of the flesh trade racket. The police are probing the matter to determine who had made Aadhar cards and PAN cards for both accused, and what kind of documents were used in it.