Sex trade busted, four girls rescued

“The victim, who is 17 years old, is a native of Madhya Pradesh and was tricked into going with one of the accused to a flat in her native village two months ago. She was waiting for her friend at a railway station, when the accused told her that he was sending her friend to pick her up. This friend, identified as Shivam Kalawat, picked her up and took her to a flat, where she was confined and assaulted. She was then taken to Indore, where she was sexually assaulted, and then brought to Vashi, where Kalawat, his mother Seeta (45) and his sister Archana (21) continually assaulted her and held her captive,” said an officer with the Vashi police.

The officer added that the accused had planned to sell her to a pimp but he turned down the transaction after learning that the victim was a minor. Afraid that she would spill the beans on the racket if she was allowed to go, the accused continued to confine her in the flat in Vashi, till she managed to escape Monday morning when Kalawat was in the bathroom.

The victim hailed an autorickshaw and told the driver her plight. The driver took her to a Kopar Khairane-based social worker who then brought her to the Vashi police station and a raid was planned.

“We raided the flat in Vashi Monday night and rescued three more girls who were being held captive in the adjacent flat. Shivam, Seeta and Archana were arrested, and two more accused who are involved in the racket are wanted. The accused had rented the flats only a couple of months ago, and we suspect that they were operating somewhere else before moving here. People involved in such rackets frequently change their bases to evade arrest,” said the officer.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com