Woman held for running prostitution racket at popular mall in Vashi

Thane: Police have arrested a 40-year-old woman for allegedly running a prostitution racket from a spa operated by her at a popular mall in Vashi area of Maharashtra's Navi Mumbai township, an official said on Thursday.

Acting on a tip-off, the police sent a decoy customer to the spa on Tuesday evening and found two women, aged around 20, who were working at the outlet and being forced into flesh trade, Navi Mumbai anti-human trafficking cell's senior police inspector Prithviraj Ghorpade said.

The woman who was allegedly pushing them into prostitution was arrested, he said.

The two victims have been since sent to a rescue home, the official said.

A case has been registered against the accused woman under Indian Penal Code sections 370 (trafficking of persons )and 506 (criminal intimidation) and provisions of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, the police added.