11 October,2026 01:55 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
TV actor rescued. Pic via X
A 35-year-old television actor has been rescued by police following a raid that allegedly uncovered a human trafficking and prostitution racket targeting women from the entertainment industry in Maharashtra's Thane district.
The actor, who has worked in Hindi television serials and web series, has been placed under protective custody at the Rescue Foundation in Mumbai. The police have not disclosed her identity or shared further details about her professional background.
The operation was conducted on October 8 after the police received a tip-off from an NGO. Acting on the information, officers sent a decoy customer to a hotel on Mira-Bhayander Road before carrying out a raid at the premises.
During the operation, the police allegedly caught a 39-year-old woman accepting money in connection with the racket. She was subsequently arrested, while investigators launched a search for her alleged male associate.
The arrested woman has been identified as Tabassum alias Sonia Umar Qureshi. According to a police release, she is accused of forcing women associated with the entertainment industry into prostitution along with her male associate.
Qureshi, who hails from Surguja district in Chhattisgarh and currently resides in Mumbai's Jogeshwari area, has been booked under Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with human trafficking, and provisions of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.
The police said the alleged racket targeted women working across different areas of the entertainment business, including television serials, web series and photo shoots. Authorities have not disclosed how many women may have been affected or how long the alleged operation had been running.
The rescue has brought attention to allegations of exploitation faced by women working in the entertainment industry. The actor remains under protective custody as the police continue their investigation into the case.
According to the police, the NGO's tip-off led officers to conduct the operation at the hotel, where the accused woman was allegedly found accepting money. The decoy customer was part of the action taken before the raid. The male associate remains at large, and a search is underway to trace him. Further details about his identity and the extent of the alleged racket have not been made public.
The police have not released additional information about the rescued actor or the circumstances surrounding her alleged exploitation. The investigation is ongoing, and the allegations against the accused are yet to be established in court.
~With inputs from PTI
