22-yr-old Uzbek woman on medical visa among 5 held

One of the women arrested when the police busted a prostitution racket at a flat in a posh Koregaon Park society is a 22-year-old from Uzbekistan who came to India on a medical visa

22-yr-old Uzbek woman on medical visa among 5 held

One of the women arrested when the police busted a prostitution racket at a flat in a posh Koregaon Park society is a 22-year-old from Uzbekistan who came to India on a medical visa. The discovery has shocked the police, who had caught five women red-handed in the Monday evening raid on the flat in the Seasons Society on North Main Road.

The police had conducted the raid after receiving a tip-off that a prostitution racket was operating in the society under the guise of a boutique. When the police arrested Nilopher Joanna from Uzbekistan, she claimed to have arrived in the city just hours earlier.

Who's the kingpin?
The police are now looking for the racket kingpin who was running the escort agency. The other women who were arrested were allegedly working for a person identified as Reshma Mohammed Yusuf Khan. The other women were identified as Ayesha Sheikh, Sakshi Singh and Shabana Sheikh. According to the police, Singh was from Delhi while Ayesha and Shabana were from the city.

Police Inspector Sudhakar Kate (Crime) of the Bund Garden police station said, "Khan had procured a shop act licence to run a boutique, Reshma's Fashion House. But we received a tip-off that she was actually running an escort agency. In the raid we seized a cell phone, which we believe belongs to Khan. We will be scrutinising the call details to know who all were involved."

Khan was arrested under Sections 3, 4, 5 and 8 of the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act for forcing women into prostitution and making a living on the income that she gained out of it.The police said Khan claimed she was married and had two children. They said though Khan mentioned that she was from Hyderbad, she did not reveal her address. All five women were produced before the court and, except for Khan, released on bail. Khan was remanded in police custody.

(With inputs from Manoj Chakraborty)