The Crime Branch has busted a sex racket operating under the guise of a massage parlour in Borivali. Four persons, including the spa manager, cashier and two housekeeping staff, have been arrested in the case.
The arrested accused have been identified as Aslam Aziz Sheikh, Ganesh Murudkar, Swapnil Sawant and Sudhirkumar Prasad. They have been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. After their arrest, all four accused were handed over to the Borivali Police for further investigation. Police also rescued 10 women during the operation and sent them to a women’s correction home in Borivali.
According to police, a massage parlour named “Mudram”, located at Purva Plaza Cooperative Society on Shimpoli Road, opposite Adani Electricity, was allegedly forcing women working there to engage in sexual activities with customers. Acting on specific information received by Crime Branch Unit-II, a decoy customer was deployed to verify the tip-off.
As per the plan, the decoy visited the massage parlour on Wednesday evening and demanded young women for sexual services. He was shown several women present at the premises and selected one of them. After paying the agreed amount, he confirmed the illegal activity and alerted the police. Crime Branch officials, who were keeping a watch nearby, immediately conducted a raid at the premises.
During the operation, police detained the manager Ganesh Murudkar, cashier Aslam Sheikh and housekeeping staff Swapnil Sawant and Sudhirkumar for questioning. Ten women found at the spot were rescued. During interrogation, it was revealed that a sex racket was being run under the cover of a massage parlour, following which the four accused were formally arrested and booked under multiple sections of law.
The rescued women were first sent for medical examination and later shifted to a women’s correction home in Borivali. Police also seized two mobile phones, cash worth ₹33,000 and other articles from the spot.
Further investigation revealed that the massage parlour was owned and operated by Sagar Satyaram Chauhan and Simran, who are currently absconding. Both have been declared wanted, and police have launched a special operation to trace and arrest them.
The four arrested accused were produced before the local court, which remanded them to police custody for further investigation.