BHUBANESWAR: Police, on Friday, busted a high-profile sex racket in Unit-3 here and rescued five women, including three natives of Thailand. Police also arrested two customers from the spot.
The flesh trade was going on at a building in the guise of a spa. The policemen suspect that the three women from Thailand were in the Capital City from last three to four months but they have been travelling to their native country via Mumbai.
Police seized their passports and are in the process of apprising the Thailand Embassy about the case. According to police, tourist visas of the three Thai women are valid till April, July and August next year. In the last five months, they have travelled to India from Thailand in July and September. Two other Thai women were also working in the same spa but left the country recently.
“As per preliminary investigation, the building is owned by an industrialist. The fourth floor of the building was rented to Srinivas Nanda who is absconding. He is believed to be running another spa in Chandrasekharpur too,” police sources said.
The spa was charging `1,400 for massages and `1,500 to`3,800 for providing services to customers. Police have also recovered a register in which names of customers were written. A car owned by one of the customers, about 20 mobile phones, a laptop were also recovered from the spot.After the raid, the five women were sent for medical examination and would be lodged at a shelter home in the city.
Meanwhile, the policemen have launched a search operation to nab Nanda who had contacted his counterparts in Mumbai and Delhi for bringing the foreigners to the city. Earlier this year, a Kyrgyz woman was held by police in a similar case.
Harassment plaint against producer
Bhubaneswar: A woman lodged a complaint with police alleging harassment by an Ollywood producer on the pretext of providing her a role in a movie. The woman approached Mahila Police and alleged that the producer used to mentally and physically harass her on the pretext of providing her a role in a movie. “We have received the complaint and a case has been registered in this regard. We are further investigating the matter,” Bhubaneswar DCP Satyabrata Bhoi said. The complainant appeared before the police on Friday and her statement was recorded under Section 161 CrPC. The policemen had earlier arrested an actor and the producer’s son for promoting casting couch in the Odia film industry and harassing a minor girl.