The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Rural Police busted a brothel being operated at Hotel Galaxy in Sundarwadi Shivar in the Chikalthana area on Monday night, rescuing five women from other states who were forced into the flesh trade. The police arrested the hotel owner, manager, and servant.
Police officials, Sub-Divisional Police Officer Puja Nangare and Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) API Aarti Jadhav, received information about a brothel operating in Hotel Galaxy.
Acting on the tip-off, the police team set a trap and sent a dummy customer. The customer initially met the hotel owner, Sandeep Khajekar, and requested a girl. Khajekar directed him to meet the manager, Bhavesh Jadhav, and instructed his servant, Jabbar Shaikh, to escort the dummy customer to the hotel. Upon reaching the hotel, the customer met Bhavesh Jadhav, who directed him to room No. 101 on the first floor. While waiting in the room, the manager brought a woman to the customer.
Victims were promised jobs
After confirming the illicit activities, the customer signalled the police team using a mobile phone. The nearby police team conducted a raid and rescued the woman. Further searches in other hotel rooms revealed four more women from different states. The victims, hailing from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and West Bengal, informed the police that they were promised jobs at the hotel but were coerced into the flesh trade due to their illiteracy.
The police arrested Sandeep Bhikaji Khajekar (26, owner), Bhavesh Praveen Jadhav (20, manager), and Jabbar Shaikh (26, servant). Mobile phones and other articles worth Rs 78,760 were seized from them.
The operation was conducted under the guidance of SP Maneesh Kalwaniya, Additional SP Sunil Lanjewar, SDPO Puja Nangare, with the participation of API Aarti Jadhav, Kapil Bankar, Manjusha Hatkangane, Sapna Charwande, Irshad Pathan, and others. A case has been registered with the Chikalthana police station, and further investigation is ongoing.
