A team from the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of the Thane (rural) police in association with their Navghar counterparts busted a prostitution racket that was operating from a flat in Bhayandar on Thursday. A female pimp was arrested and a woman who was pushed into prostitution activities was rescued.
Acting on a tip-off about immoral trafficking of poor women, the police established contact with the female pimp through a decoy customer. After striking the deal, the decoy scheduled a meeting at an apartment located in the Navghar Road area of Bhayandar (east). The police team laid a trap and arrested the 32-year-old pimp after she closed the sex trade deal with the police decoy.
A woman who according to the police was forced into prostitution activities was also rescued from the clutches of the racketeer. A case under sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA) has been registered against the pimp who as per sources used social messaging platforms including- WhatsApp to communicate with other pimps and her potential clients as it was convenient for her to send the photographs of girls she had to offer.
Further investigations are underway.
