10 years on, Thane court acquits woman accused of running trafficking racket

A Thane court has acquitted a 57-year-old woman accused in a 2015 case of trafficking women and coercing them into prostitution, giving her the benefit of the doubt.

Additional Sessions Judge AS Bhagwat, in the order issued on June 21, stated that the prosecution failed to prove the charges against Madhu Arjun Yadav beyond all reasonable doubt.

A copy of the order was received on Saturday.

The prosecution told the court that officials from the Thane Police`s anti-human trafficking unit raided an apartment in Savarkar Nagar, on February 10, following a tip-off, and arrested the accused after deploying a decoy customer.

The police had also rescued from there three women who were pushed into flesh trade, the prosecution argued.

The accused was booked under Indian Penal Code section 370 (trafficking of persons) and provisions of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.

The judge, however, noted that the decoy and the victims (those rescued after the raid) were not examined by the prosecution.

The victims were not traceable and the decoy did not turn up despite summons, the court said.

The case against the accused was pending for the last 10 years, and under these circumstances, there is no proof against her, it observed.

The prosecution failed to examine the remaining witnesses (other than the two panch witnesses) and has not complied with the order of January 31, 2025, asking them to arrange for the witnesses for deposition. Hence, the issue is closed, the court said. 

15-year-old girl rescued from prostitution racket in Mumbai, one woman arrested

Earlier in a similar case, the Mumbai Police rescued a 15-year-old girl from a prostitution racket operating in the western suburbs of the city. The authorities have also arrested a woman allegedly involved in the trafficking network, according to PTI.

The operation was carried out by officials from the Crime Branch’s Unit 8 following a credible tip-off. As per PTI reports, the team swiftly organised a decoy operation and sent an undercover officer posing as a customer to a hotel in Andheri, a bustling locality in suburban Mumbai known for its commercial activity.

(With PTI inputs)

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