15 women from Thailand rescued from prostitution in Thane, 4 arrested

Fifteen women, all from Thailand’s capital Bangkok and forced into prostitution, were rescued by the anti-extortion cell of Thane police during a raid on a lodge in the Ulhasnagar area of Maharashtra on Tuesday evening. The women were reportedly lured to India with false promises of well-paying jobs.

According to a report by Indian Express, police have arrested four persons, including the manager of Sitara Lodging and Boarding, on charges of human trafficking and related offences.

Police reported that the victims had suffered forced labor and sexual exploitation. During the operation, police seized Rs 5.27 lakh in cash and other incriminating material.

Senior police inspector Shekhar Bagde confirmed that a suspect named Kuldeep alias Pankaj Singh has been arrested. “We are investigating how the women were brought to India and identifying those involved in human trafficking,” the officer said.

Prostitution racket busted in Mumbai

In a separate incident, a prostitution racket was busted in Mumbai’s Mulund area and police rescued eight women and a minor girl, news agency PTI reported on April 5, citing an official familiar with the case. The development came after a hotel was raided on April 4.

According to the report, the 34-year-old woman who ran the racket had also been arrested previously in similar cases.

“The suspect has previously been arrested in similar cases. A hotel in Mulund was raided on Wednesday during which eight women and a minor girl were rescued,” a senior police official told PTI.

In a similar incident in February, a 40-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly running a prostitution racket from a spa in a popular mall in Navi Mumbai’s Vashi area, according to PTI.

Acting on a tip, police sent a decoy customer to the spa, where they discovered two women, approximately twenty years old, being forced into prostitution. The woman responsible for forcing them into the trade was arrested.

A case was registered against the accused under Sections 370 (trafficking in persons) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), along with relevant provisions of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, according to the PTI report .