15 CSWs, six customers held during raid at Ganga Jamuna

NAGPUR: The city police nabbed 15 commercial sex workers (CSWs) and six customers from the red light area of

Ganga Jamuna

on Monday. However, some persons who got a whiff of the raid escaped, sources said.

ACP

Rina

Janbandhu

received a tip-off that some minors had been trafficked into the brothels. Accordingly, the ACP, under the guidance of DCP zone III Rahul Makanikar, formed a team consisting of 50 police personnel from Lakadganj, Pachpaoli and Kotwali police stations and raided the brothels between 10:45am and 12:30pm.

The police used a strategy similar to the one they used in an earlier raid carried on March 21. The police blocked all exit and entry points of the area. As the squad entered the area, a few women were rounded up for soliciting. Later, the police team entered the labyrinth and rounded up six men who had been locked inside rooms along with CSWs by pimps.

Fifteen CSWs and six customers were nabbed during the raid and four offences registered under The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, against them, said senior PI SB Mane. He added all women underwent medical examination at Mayo hospital later in the day.

However, no minor girls were rescued during the raid.

“I would take the relatively low number of arrests as a positive sign. In the earlier action, we had rounded up 95 women and 48 customers. A few shops have closed down since,” Janbandhu told TOI. She also said some racketeers and shop owners probably got a hint about the operation and fled from the spot.

“Next time, we will keep the surprise element intact and drive out criminal elements from the brothels through area domination exercise, on the lines of the one used in Naxal-affected areas, and conduct raids more often,” said Makanikar.