Navi Mumbai, Dec 24: The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) busted an illegal prostitution racket operating from a lodge in the Taloja MIDC area and rescued seven women, including a minor Bangladeshi girl, while arresting the lodge owner, manager and a service boy.
Customers charged Rs 2,000 at lodge
According to police, the racket was being run from Navnath Inn Lodge in Taloja MIDC, where customers were allegedly charged Rs 2,000 and women were provided for sexual exploitation. Acting on specific information, the AHTU conducted a decoy operation on the night of December 21 to verify the inputs.
Decoy operation leads to late-night raid
After confirmation, a raid was carried out around 11.45 pm under the guidance of Assistant Commissioner of Police Dharmapal Bansode. The team, led by Senior Police Inspector Prithviraj Ghorpade, along with police constable Anil Mandole and other staff, searched the lodge premises.
Seven women rescued, including minor Bangladeshi girl
“During the raid, we found seven women kept in lodge rooms for prostitution. Among them was a minor Bangladeshi girl, while two other women were also Bangladeshi nationals. All seven victims were taken into protective custody and rescued by the AHTU,” said an official.
Lodge owner, manager and service boy arrested
Police have arrested Vasant Ganesh Shetty, the lodge owner; Girish Vitthal Shetty, the lodge manager; and Roshan Ramjit Yadav, a service boy, for allegedly running the sex racket.
Case registered under BNS, ITP Act and POCSO
A case has been registered at Taloja police station under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, and relevant sections of the POCSO Act.
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Accused remanded to police custody
The accused were produced before a court, which remanded them to police custody till December 27. Further investigation is underway to identify possible links to a larger trafficking network, police said.
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