Prostitution racket running behind ‘secret door’ busted, 7 women rescued

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru:

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths, while raiding several lodges in the city, busted a prostitution racket and rescued at least seven women from a secret compartment of a hotel near Kalasipalyam on Thursday. According to sources, Vasavi Lodge in KR Market, Durga Palace in Cottonpet and Sapphire Boarding and Lodging were raided by CCB personnel based on credible information regarding suspicious activities being carried out around these areas.

An officer from the Kalasipalya police station said that the CCB had carried out similar raids at these lodges several times earlier but had failed to find anything suspicious. However, this time during the raid, the officials found a secret opening inside one of the lodges which connected to a hidden room where a few women had been kept inside.

It is suspected that the miscreants had been forcing the women into prostitution. A case has been registered at the jurisdictional police station regarding the incident and police have arrested six people including the hotel staff in connection with the case. Further probe is on to ascertain the extent of the network, police said.