Thane: The Thane Sessions Court has acquitted three men who were arrested in 2011 under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA) for allegedly running a brothel and involving minor girls in the flesh trade. The court observed that the prosecution failed to present any sex workers who were allegedly rescued from the hotel and that no victim had come forward with allegations of exploitation against the accused.
Shashidhar Shetty (44), Mahadev Gauda (48), and Manoj Kumar Yadav (38) were arrested by the Thane police following a raid on a hotel. According to the prosecution, the police had conducted a trap using a decoy customer, which led them to believe that the accused were running a brothel.
The police claimed that Shetty was the hotel manager, Gauda was a waiter and allegedly arranged sex workers along with a pimp named Mithu Bangali. Bangali, who was said to be involved in procuring sex workers, remains absconding.
The court, however, found several inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case. It noted that: there were no rescued sex workers testified against the accused.
“There was no documentary evidence was presented to prove that the rooms in the hotel were used for prostitution. All the women found in the hotel were adults, making it impossible to charge the accused under Section 6(2) of PITA, which deals with trafficking of minors. Also The investigation agency did not establish that the accused were earning a livelihood from prostitution,”the court held.
The judgment further stated, “In the absence of material evidence at the instance of sex workers, the available material is not sufficient to hold the accused guilty, thus giving them the benefit of doubt, thereby acquitting the three.”
