Six women, four girls rescued from flesh trade

Six women and four girls were rescued from flesh trade in two separate operations conducted by the police in the district, an official said on Friday.

During the operation carried out on Thursday by officials of the crime branch and Anti-Human Trafficking Cell (AHTC) of the Palghar police, four persons, including a woman, were arrested, he said.

"Officials conducted a raid at a hotel on Ambadi Road in Vasai, in which a woman and four girls were rescued. A woman, identified as Priya Parmar (34), who had pushed them into flesh trade, was arrested," Palghar police spokesperson Hemant Katkar said.

In the second raid conducted at Sativali, the police rescued five women and arrested three men for pushing them into flesh trade.

According to Katkar, the accused were identified as Shahnavaz Rahman Khan (40), Sajid Iqbal Khan (39), Deepak Valmiki (30).

All the accused were booked under IPC section 370 (trafficking of persons), Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, police said.