Prostitution racket busted in Thane; man held, four women rescued

Thane: Police have exposed a prostitution business that was being run from a lodge in Maharashtra's Thane city and rescued four women, an official said on Friday.

A garage operator, identified as Ranjit Vaishnav (42), has been arrested for forcing the women into the illicit business, while the lodge owner, Ashok Shetty, is on the run, he said.

The Kasarwadavali police on Wednesday raided the lodge, located under their jurisdiction, and rescued four women, aged between 26 and 30, from two rooms, the official said.

Vaishnav and Shetty have been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 143 (trafficking of person) and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, he added.