Mumbai The Social Service Branch (SSB) of the Mumbai police raided four flats in Navi Mumbai and rescued 17 women who were brought to the city from West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and forced into prostitution.
The SSB has arrested nine people of the syndicate and are looking for two main culprits who were running the prostitution racket for several years.
The incident came to light after a 24-year-old woman managed to flee from a flat where she was staying with four to five women in Juinagar in Navi Mumbai. For two months, she stayed at her relative’s house in Kalyan and during her stay there, she revealed her ordeal to a woman, who brought her to a non-government organisation Justice Venture India Trust in south Mumbai.
The NGO then brought her to the crime branch office where her statement was recorded. A native of Howrah in West Bengal, the woman was married at the age of 18, but was abandoned by her husband after two years when she gave birth to twins. She was then compelled to return to her maternal place. When she decided to look for work, she was asked to contact Raju Bengali, a person who claimed to help women find employment in Mumbai. When contacted, Raju promised her a maid’s job on a salary of ₹12,000 a month in Mumbai, said a police officer.
As per the discussion, Raju booked her railways ticket and she reached Mumbai in October 2021. Raju even picked her up from the railway station and took her to Juinagar, where she was kept with eight to 10 other women. She was later shifted to another flat and forced into prostitution for eight months. She was sent to hotels and lodges and if she refused, she would be beaten black and blue by Bengali, said deputy commissioner of police Raju Bhujbal.
She ran away the moment she got the opportunity and went to a local police station in Navi Mumbai. A police constable came along with her to the flat but did not find any other women. She then proceeded to her relative’s place in Kalyan.
“We formed four teams and raided four flats in the Juinagar area and found a total of 17 women between 19 to 33 years. Two main accused Raju Bengali and his associate Salil, who brought the women to Mumbai are still absconding. But we managed to nab a total of nine accused including a manager who used to deal with customers,” added Bhujbal.