Patna: Police have busted an alleged organised sex trafficking and prostitution racket operating from a hotel in the Khagaul area of Patna, rescuing three minor girls and arresting 15 people during a raid conducted on Tuesday.
The raid was carried out at Dragon Hotel, located opposite Tribhuvan Mor under the Khagaul police station limits, following a tip-off that the premises had been used for illegal activities for a prolonged period.
According to police, a special team led by Khagaul Station House Officer Ranjan Kumar conducted the operation under the directions of the City Superintendent of Police (West). A magistrate deputed by the Danapur sub-divisional administration was present during the raid.
During the operation, police found several men and women in compromising circumstances inside different rooms of the hotel. The premises were subsequently sealed.
Police rescued three minor girls, who have been handed over to the concerned child protection authorities for rehabilitation and further legal proceedings.
In all, 15 people were arrested, including seven male customers, five adult women, two hotel operators, and one hotel employee. All the accused have been remanded to judicial custody.
Investigators said they recovered Rs 40,000 in cash, a large quantity of new and used condoms, sexual enhancement medicines, sprays and other materials allegedly used in the illegal operation.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the hotel management had allegedly appointed a woman to act as a broker, who lured young women to the hotel by promising them money and arranged customers for them.
Police said eight women were found at the hotel during the raid. They included the alleged broker, two women from Kolkata, two other adult women and the three rescued minors.
Danapur Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Amarendra Kumar Jha said the raid was conducted based on specific intelligence inputs and in the presence of an executive magistrate.
“We recovered Rs 40,000 in cash along with a large quantity of condoms, sexual enhancement medicines and other materials from the hotel. The investigation is underway to identify others connected to the racket and trace its wider network,” the SDPO said.
Police are now probing whether the racket had links to a larger trafficking network operating in the region and are trying to identify other individuals involved in the illegal operation.
