The Navi Mumbai Crime Branch rescued 17 women, including foreign nationals, from a prostitution racket being run under the guise of a spa at CBD Belapur.

Acting on the orders of Police Commissioner Milind Bharambe, Joint Commissioner Sanjay Yenpure, Additional Commissioner (Crime) Deepak Sakore, and Deputy Commissioner (Crime) Sachin Gunjal, the anti-human trafficking unit (AHTU) conducted the operation.

Senior Inspector Prithviraj Ghorpade received a tip-off on September 27 about women being forced into prostitution at Magic Moment Wellness Spa, located at City Tower in Sector 17, where ‘services’ were being offered for Rs 6,000. After verifying the information, a decoy customer was sent. Following a pre-arranged signal, the police team raided the premises.

During the raid, 17 women were rescued, including six from Maharashtra, two each from Thailand, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, and one each from Nepal, West Bengal, and Gujarat.

Police arrested the spa owner, Mangesh Sanjay Bandodkar (32), and cleaner Pankaj Narayan Mane (42) for running the establishment as a front for prostitution. According to police, the accused were exploiting women for unlawful financial gain, depriving them of their rightful earnings.

A case has been registered at CBD Belapur Police Station under the relevant sections of the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA). Further investigation is underway.

The raid was carried out under the supervision of Senior Inspector Ghorpade along with Assistant Inspectors Sachin Jadhav and Swapnil Gaikwad, Sub-inspectors Sunil Chavan and Sandeep Gawli, and other personnel from the crime branch team.

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