Thane: Woman held for running flesh trade from her home

Police  in Maharashtra’s Thane district have arrested a woman for allegedly running the flesh trade from her home and rescued an 18-year-old girl from there, an official said.

The anti-human trafficking cell of Bhayander police took the woman into custody on May 18 following a tip-off and is on the lookout for another woman, the official said. Senior inspector Samir Ahirrao of the cell said the arrested accused roped in college-going girls offering them easy money and used her home at Navghar in Bhayander as a prostitution den.

He said the accused used social media to share pictures of the girls with her customers. The girl rescued from her home told the police that she had borrowed some money from a friend and wanted to repay it without anyone's help, he said. She chose to take the flesh trade route apparently at the suggestion of a friend on Instagram.

The accused woman has been booked under the Indian Penal Code and Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, while the girl has been sent to a rescue home, the official added.