The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of the Navi Mumbai Crime Branch raided a lodge in Taloja MIDC last week, leading to the arrest of three individuals for allegedly operating a prostitution racket. The police also rescued five women during the operation.
Senior Police Inspector Prithviraj Ghorpade, head of the Immoral Human Trafficking Prevention Cell, received intelligence from his sources indicating that the manager of 'Romi Lodging & Boarding,' located near Dhanser Toll Naka in Taloja MIDC, Panvel, was involved in the prostitution trade by offering young women to customers for sex work. After verifying the information, Ghorpade found it to be accurate.
Acting on this tip-off, Ghorpade's team conducted a raid at the lodge on December 11, 2024, at approximately 10:42 PM. During the raid, they found five women engaged in sex work. The accused individuals—Tamanna Gowda (Lodge Owner), Kumar Krishna Gowda (Manager), and Ranjitsingh Sanket (Waiter/Chotu)—had conspired to bring the women to the lodge. They then introduced the women to a decoy customer and used the premises for illegal activities, facilitating the women's involvement in prostitution. In exchange, the accused received Rs 4,500 as payment for the women’s services, which they used to sustain their operation.
A case has been filed under the Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act, 1956, sections 3, 4, and 5, along with IPC sections 143(2), 143(3), and 3(5), at the Taloja Police Station (Crime No. 450/2024). The investigation is ongoing.
All three accused have been remanded to police custody until December 14, 2024. The rescued women have been placed in the New Life Rehabilitation Center in Chembur for their safety.