Flesh trade racket: 12 women forced into prostitution rescued

Twelve women allegedly pushed into flesh trade were rescued by police following a raid near Kalyan Railway Station in the district, police said today.

Based on a complaints from locals about the flesh trade racket being carried out in the area, police raided a footpath near the railway station at around 10 PM last night and rescued the women, Thane crime branch anti-human trafficking cell's senior police inspector Shakeel Shaikh said.

Four women, who had allegedly forced the victims into flesh trade, were arrested and Rs 10,700 were recovered from them, he said. The accused, identified as Lakshmi (Amma) Parmeshwar Patil (39), Radha Vijay Konpakula (46), Rajiya Abdul Karim Shaikh (48) and Lalita Balya Nayak (35), have been charged under sections 4 and 5 of Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.

The rescued women, in the age group of 20-25, have been sent to a remand home, police added.