NAGPUR: The city police's crime branch arrested four persons, including two hotel employees, for allegedly being part of a thriving interstate sex racket, in the early hours of Monday. Two customers were also netted by the cops who rescued three women during the action at a hotel on Central Avenue.
Police said the hotel management had been allegedly engaged in the illegal practice by offering their premises to the racketeers who supplied high-profile commercial sex workers to hotel guests. The hotel management offered packages, which included a well-furnished room, food, beverages and escorts, to their guests.
The all-inclusive sex packages ranged between Rs 5,000 and Rs 15,000 per night. Such packages, which attract customers, particularly from the neighbouring states, are learnt to be offered at several city hotels and lodges at varying rates.
Police said that such pleasure packages have attained popularity among the travelling trader class. Sanjay Agrawal and Ajay Bhoie, both businessmen, were among the ones to be arrested. While Agrawal was from Raipur, Bhoie hailed from Chhindwara. Crime branch said that both the traders wanted to 'enjoy' after finishing their day's work.
Following a tip-off, the crime branch deployed a dummy to verify the situation. He even 'purchased' a package to gain entry into the hotel. The squad led by Madhao Giri and comprising sub-inspectors Shyam Wankhede and Anil Takshande, and other women officers swung into action early in the morning.
Hotel manager Hariprakash Soni (51) and Chandrashekhar Mohite (42) too were arrested along with the customers. Police said that the hotel owner too would be shortly arrested.
Crime branch sources said that one of the girls rescued was from the city's notorious red-light area of Ganga Jamuna while the other two were from Pune and Kolkata, respectively. The agent, who procured the girls for the hotel from different states, has remained elusive to the cops who have launched a manhunt for him. Police said that the agent would exchange the girls for localities.
Producing the accused before the court, the police have procured custody till April 13 for further questioning. The hotel managers, who have been slapped with the relevant sections of the Immoral Prevention of Trafficking Act (IPTA) along with the customers, have been sent to the magisterial custody while the three rescued women are in the government home.
TOI
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