Hotel owner, 2 others held for flesh trade

Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 19

The Shimla police have busted a sex racket running in a hotel at Janedghat on the Kufri-Chail road, about 35 km from here today, and arrested three persons, including the owner of the hotel. Seven womenhave also been detained.

Following a tip-off and a complaint received at the Dhalli police station at 12.30 am that a “rave party” was going on and loud music was being played in the hotel, the police conducted a raid past mid-night and arrested three persons, including the owner of the hotel, under Sections 4 and 5 of the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act 1956.

The police also detained seven women allegedly involved in the racket. Several persons were found drunk while some women were found hiding in tents erected for the party of a multi-national company, the police said.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that all women, which included three from Himachal and four from Punjab, were married and in the 25- 30 age group,” the police said.

Four women hail from Bathinda and Panchkula and three from Sirmaur district while two arrested men were from Faridkot and Zirakpur.

The women reportedly told the police that two agents Jai Shiv Bhandari (55) and Deepak Kumar (32) had brought them to the hotel for flesh trade.

Investigations are in progress and the police are trying to reach the kingpin of the racket. The police said the arrested persons would be produced in the court for remand.

Hotels on suburbs of key tourist destinations like Shimla, Manali and Dharamsala have become a safe heaven for illegal practices like prostitution. Lately, a large number of such cases are being unearthed. In a majority of the cases, the racket operates from the adjoining states and girls of one state or district are sent to another state and districts.