Pune Crime Branch rescues 16 women, 5 minor girls from sex racket

PUNE NP NEWS NETWORK- In one of the biggest raids in recent past, the Crime Branch of Pune city police on Monday evening raided brothels in the red-light area of Budhwar Peth, and rescued 16 women and 5 minor girls.

Acting on a tip-off, a massive police force under guidance of ACP (crime 2) Bhanupratap Barge conducted mass raid at the brothels located in New Building in Budhwar Peth. The raids began around 6.30 pm on Monday.

ACP Barge said that two minor girls were rescued in time before they ccould be forced into prostitution. They are from Dombivli and were brought here under pretext of good job and then sold to the brothel keepers.

Police have registered an FIR with Faraskhana police station against brothel keepers Kalpana Raju Sharma (38), Anu Laxmikant Sharma (65), Zarina Sunil Tamang (47), Gangamaya Jeevan Tamang (50), Saili Sonam Lama (40), all natives of Nepal, and agent Raju. They have been charged for various offences under the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act.

According to police, out of the 16 women, eight are from West Bengal, five from Nepal, and one each from Karnataka, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. The three other minor girls are from Gujarat, West Bengal and Jharkhand. All of them have been kept at Rescue Foundation’s shelter home in Hadapsar.

The police team which conducted the mass raid included police inspectors Manisha Zende, Deepak Lagad, Anjum Bagwan, API Ashwini Jagtap, PSI Anant Vyawhare, and other police personnel from Crime Branch social security cell. A team led by senior police inspector Kishore Navande of Faraskhana police station also participated in the operation.