4 minor girls rescued from 2 sex rackets

In two separate incidents, the social service branch of Mumbai has rescued four minors from prostitution rackets. The minors, two of them teenagers, were rescued after the police conducted raids at Saki Naka and Antop Hill.

Sources said that SSB officials received a tip that some people had gathered at a hotel in Saki Naka with minors. The officials acted on this and raided Hotel Shivsagar, which is situated at Sakivihar Road, and found that some pimps were attempting to solicit women.

The officials then rescued two minors, both aged 17 and another 23-year-old woman. The police also arrested one woman who is alleged to be the middle agent for the victims and had brought them to the hotel.

“They had reached the hotel in the evening and were expecting customers when we raided the hotel,” said an officer.

In another incident, the police raided a plot in Sardar Nagar in Sion and arrested three people. The officials said that the two minors rescued were teenagers and had been allegedly brought to the city on the pretext of working in a beauty parlour. They were also successful in rescuing another woman who had been lured into the sex racket by pimps who had offered her money for an event.

“We have sent the rescued minors and the women for a medical check up. And are also determining where they hail from and trying to trace their families,” said an officer

The police has also recovered '5,000 and a mobile phone from the arrested accused. Those arrested have been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITP) and several sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Officials said that those arrested were allegedly involved in a bigger sex racket and Antop Hill Station and Saki Naka police stations are conducting further inquiries.