The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of the Navi Mumbai Crime Branch has detained a spa manager and uncovered a prostitution racket operating under the guise of providing massage services. During the raid, police rescued three women who had been forced into the flesh trade.
Acting on a tip-off, AHTU officials conducted a raid on Saturday night at the Hot Stone Wellness Spa, located in Sector 8, Goodwill Garden, Kharghar. The spa’s manager and owner, Janhavi alias Sandhya Dinesh Chavan (31), a resident of Vastu Vihar Building, Sector 16, Kharghar, was apprehended during the operation.
According to police, Chavan was allegedly running an illegal prostitution racket under the pretense of offering massage services. “Chavan reportedly coerced women into prostitution by luring them with false promises of legitimate employment as massage therapists. She charged clients ₹5,000 per session while exploiting the victims’ earnings to sustain her operations,” said a police official from AHTU.
The police added that a decoy customer was sent in to expose the racket. A case has been registered against Chavan at the Kharghar police station under relevant sections of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita.