On Sunday, Delhi Police announced the busting of a major sex trafficking racket operating in the Paharganj area, following a raid on Thursday. The operation led to the rescue of 23 individuals, including three minors, and the arrest of seven suspects allegedly involved in the illicit operation.
The raid was conducted by multiple teams from the Central District Police after receiving a tip-off about an organized prostitution network operating in the area. According to Harsha Vardhan, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central), the accused were reportedly bringing women from West Bengal, Nepal, and other places to Delhi. They kept the victims in a house in Paharganj and later sent them to various hotels for prostitution.
Of the rescued victims, ten were identified as being from Nepal. Based on intelligence and surveillance about the trafficking network, police tracked the movement of victims being transported to nearby hotels on scooters. Decoy customers were deployed to confirm the illicit activities before the authorities launched their raids.
During the operation, the police raided several locations, including the hideout and multiple hotels, rescuing the victims and arresting the suspects. Seven mobile phones and two scooters, which were allegedly used in the trafficking operations, were also seized.
A case has been registered under sections 3 (keeping a brothel), 4 (living on earnings of prostitution), and 5 (procuring or inducing person for prostitution) of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Nurshed Alam (21), Mohammad Rahul Alam (22), Abdul Mannan (30), Tausif Rexa, Shamim Alam (29), Mohammad Jarul (26), and Monish (26).
The rescued victims have been provided necessary support and sent to shelter homes, while the investigation into the trafficking network continues.
