Beed: The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) raided two locations under the jurisdiction of Beed Rural Police Station in a single day, busting two alleged flesh trade rackets on Wednesday night. Six women were rescued during the operation, while five persons have been booked under the provisions of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956. Police also seized cash, vehicles, mobile phones and other material collectively valued at ₹5.21 lakh.
Acting on a tip-off received on July 29, an AHTU team led by Police Inspector Ashok Mudiraj first laid a trap near Charata Cross Road on the outskirts of Beed city. After a decoy customer allegedly paid ₹1,000 and a deal for prostitution was struck, the police conducted a raid.
A woman was taken into custody, and the two marked ₹500 currency notes handed over by the decoy customer were recovered from her. One rescued woman was found at the spot and, during preliminary inquiry, allegedly disclosed that she had been brought there for prostitution. Police also seized six unused condoms from the location.
The team later raided a massage centre at Bahirwadi in Beed taluka on the Dhule–Solapur National Highway. Following a pre-arranged signal from the decoy customer, police raided the premises and found that ₹1,000 had allegedly been accepted for arranging prostitution. The marked currency notes were recovered from the manager.
During the search, police rescued five women, who were allegedly brought from different places, including West Bengal. Seven male customers were also found at the premises.
Police seized one four-wheeler, four two-wheelers, two Android mobile phones, 60 unused condoms, records of online financial transactions and cash, taking the total value of the seized property to ₹5.21 lakh.
Two separate FIRs have been registered at Beed Rural Police Station under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, and legal action has been initiated against the five accused.
The operation was carried out under the guidance of Superintendent of Police Navneet Kanwat, Additional Superintendent of Police Sameer Shaikh and Assistant Superintendent of Police Venkataraman. The raid was executed by Police Inspector Ashok Mudiraj, Assistant Police Inspector Janabai Sangale and the AHTU team.
