Prostitution Racket Busted In Mumbai; 3 Arrested, Minor Detained
Police said that till now it has come to light that four minor girls were forced into prostitution
Mumbai: Mumbai Police busted a prostitution racket targeting girls from poor families living in the eastern suburbs. While three people, including the owner of a lodge in south Mumbai, were arrested, a minor was detained.
The police are looking for more people involved in the racket. Police said that till now it has come to light that four minor girls were forced into prostitution.
The racket was busted when a 16-year-old girl was forced into prostitution and became pregnant. When the girl did not menstruate for a few weeks, her sister took her to a government hospital earlier this month. When the hospital found that the minor was pregnant, it informed the local police station
Police recorded the statement of the girl and found that a 25-year-old woman had given her money to accompany another man to a lodge in south Mumbai. Based on her statement, the police earlier this week registered an FIR for rape under sections of the Indian Penal Code as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act and the Prevention of Illegal Trafficking Act.
The 25-year-old woman was arrested on Tuesday. Based on her statement, the police found that the 32-year-old owner and 42-year-old manager of a lodge in south Mumbai, where the girl was taken, went hand in hand in running the racket. Thereafter both the youths were arrested.
The police also found that a male friend of the 16-year-old girl was involved in persuading her to meet the man.
“Since he is a minor, he has been sent to an observation home,” said a senior inspector.
During the investigation, the police found that three other minor girls were similarly lured into prostitution.
“These girls come from poor families…the parents work as labourers. The accused used to befriend such girls and spend money to make them habituated to a certain lifestyle. Later, when the girls were in need of money, the accused woman used to lure them with sex trade on the pretext of money,” an officer said.
“While we know of four girls, we suspect that more girls in the area could have been seduced in a similar fashion,” the officer said.
Police are checking the call records of the accused to find out who they were in contact with. They are also conducting searches at lodges in other parts of the city on the suspicion that the sites were used by the accused in the racket.
“One or two more persons are missing who could be named as accused in the case,” a senior officer said.
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