The Powai Police have arrested the manager of a hotel who was allegedly operating a sex racket under the guise of hotel business. The accused has been identified as Mohammad Dawood Mohammad Akhtar Ali Shaikh (23). During the operation, police rescued two foreign women, both citizens of Uganda and Kenya. A case has been registered under the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA). Police have also named the hotel owner, Abdul Karim, as a wanted accused. Investigations have revealed that foreign women were being housed in the hotel and used for prostitution.
According to police, the racket was operating from a hotel named Cozy Inn, located opposite Ashok Tower on Military Road in Marol, Andheri. The Powai Police had received information that foreign women were being given rooms on rent and a sex racket was being run with their help. To verify the information, the police deployed a decoy customer.
As planned, the decoy visited the Cozy Inn hotel around 6:30 pm on Thursday. After spending some time there, he approached manager Mohammad Dawood and asked for women. The manager then showed him two African women, out of whom the decoy selected one. Dawood demanded ₹3,500 for sexual services, taking ₹500 as an advance and instructing the decoy to give the remaining amount to the selected woman.
The decoy and the woman were then sent to Room No. 214 on the first floor of the hotel. The decoy gave a missed call to the police as a signal. Soon after, the police team conducted a surprise raid and detained manager Mohammad Dawood for questioning. During the search, officers found two foreign women — one from Bungoma, Kenya, and the other from Mulago, Uganda — staying in the hotel.
During interrogation, the women revealed that they had been living at the hotel and that manager Mohammad Dawood was running the sex racket with their help. Customers were sent to their rooms for sexual activities for ₹3,500 per woman. A portion of the amount was given to the women, while Dawood kept the rest.
Following the registration of the case under appropriate BNS and PITA sections, Mohammad Dawood was arrested and is currently in police custody. Police said that Dawood hails from Saharsa district in Bihar and had been staying at the Cozy Inn hotel.