Two of the girls were from Kolkata, one from Assam and two from Bangladesh

Following a raid by the Social Security Cell of Pune Crime Branch, five girls, including three minors, were rescued from a building in Budhwar Peth yesterday afternoon. Brothel keeper Rekha Tamang from Nepal has been arrested.

While two of the girls were from Kolkata, one was from Assam and two were from Bangladesh one of whom was brought from Dhaka just that morning under the pretext of a lucrative job opportunity.

Crying girls
Acting on a tip-off, officers raided Sapna building in Budhwar Peth, an area infamous for sex trade. Sub-inspector Vimal Bidwe said, "We have booked Tamang under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act for illegally detaining and forcing the girls into the flesh trade. When we went inside, we found the girls were crying and asking us to help them get out of this situation."

ACP Sangramsingh Nishandar of Pune Crime branch added, "In the last two months, we have conducted five such raids and rescued 20 girls. In fact, because of these raids, girls have started showing their willingness to come out of the situation. Inspector Rajendra Bhambre headed this raid."

Information given by NGO Freedom Firm on a Kolkata girl helped the police.