Two held for running sex racket under the guise of event mgmt co

The Anti-Human Trafficking Wing (AHTW) of the Thane (rural) police arrested two young professionals including a woman for allegedly running a prostitution business under the guise of an event management company in Mira Road, bringing light to the fact that business conferences, commercial and other social events are serving as a new front for flesh trade activities.

According to the police, four women (aged between 22 and 25 years) were rescued from the clutches of the flesh trade racketeers.

Acting a tip-off about immoral trafficking of young girls under the garb of event management assignments, the AHTW team led by Assistant Police Inspector Sanjay Bangar under the instructions of SP Dr. Mahesh Patil and ASP Atul Kulkarni, with the help of a decoy, established contact with the middlemen.

After striking the deal, the decoy scheduled a meeting with the middlemen at a restaurant near Shivar Garden in Mira Road on Tuesday evening.

The police team laid a trap and arrested the middlemen identified as Sonu Dabharde (21) and Sofia Shaikh (22) while they were parading four women before a decoy customer with a demand of Rs 10,000 for each of the women.

“Since Sonu Dabharde and Sofia Shaikh were into the business of event management, several young women would approach them for employment. It seems that the accused would lure poor and needy women into prostitution,” said Bangar.

Both the accused, who have been booked under Section 370(1) of the IPC and Sections 4, 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (ITPA), 1956, were remanded to police custody till Friday after they were produced before the District Session Court, Thane.

The rescued women have been sent to the shelter home in Ulhasnagar. The Mira Road police is conducting further investigations into the case.