Voice 9, News Desk: Thane Police have rescued a girl and four women from the flesh trade in Thane, Maharashtra. According to the official, two agents were arrested in connection with the investigation on Wednesday. On Tuesday, personnel from the municipal police's Anti-Human Trafficking Cell (AHTC) carried out the operation, he added.
"It was carried out on the basis of a tip-off." The officials maintained a close eye on a lodge in the city and apprehended the two agents. "The victims were also rescued from their custody," AHTC senior inspector Mahesh Patil told the PTI.
The Thane Nagar police station has registered an offense under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 366(A) (procuration of minor girls), 372 (selling minors for purposes of prostitution), and 34 (common intention), as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Juvenile Justice Act. The case is being investigated.
Meanwhile, in another instance last month, Thane police detained a woman for reportedly conducting a flesh trade from her house and rescued an 18-year-old girl from there, according to news agency PTI.
Following a tip-off, the Bhayander police anti-human trafficking unit arrested a woman on May 18, an official told PTI on Saturday. According to senior inspector Samir Ahirrao of the cell, the arrested accused enticed college-aged females by giving them easy money and used her residence in Navghar, Bhayander, as a prostitution den.
He said that the accused shared images of the girls with her customers over social media. The teenager retrieved from her house told authorities she had borrowed money from a friend and intended to return it on her own. She supposedly selected the flesh trade route on the advice of an Instagram acquaintance. The accused woman has been booked under the Indian Penal Code and Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, while the girl has been sent to a rescue home, the official added.
