Couple held for running sex racket in Thane district; three women rescued

The police have arrested a couple and rescued three women involved in a sex racket in the Kashimira area of Maharashtra's Thane city, an official said on Friday.

Acting on a tip-off, the MBVV police's anti-human trafficking cell (AHTC) conducted a raid at the Hatkesh locality of Kashimira on Wednesday afternoon and caught a couple and three women, senior inspector Sameer Ahirrao said.

The police had received information that the couple allegedly ran a sex racket under the pretext of organising dance shows. They would send photographs of women to customers on WhatsApp, he said.

The accused allegedly took the women outside the state to Goa and Bengaluru in Karnataka, and also to Lonavala, Mumbai, Thane and Mira-Bhayander, the official said.

The police arrested Ayan alias Mohammad Shahrukh Khan and his wife Jyoti alias Rehan Sultana and rescued three women, he said.

An offence under section 370 (human trafficking) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Immoral Traffic Prevention (PITA) has been registered against the duo.