Sex racket busted at city hotel, Uzbek woman rescued

Surat: City police’s anti-human trafficking unit (AHTU) raided a hotel in Lal Darwaja area and rescued a 40-year-old woman of Uzbek origin. Based on a tip-off that the hotel manager facilitates flesh trade through foreign woman in his hotel, cops first laid a trap and sent a dummy customer to bust the racket.
Police raided the place and filed a case under Immoral Traffic Prevention Act 1956 and IPC 370 (a) (2) and arrested the hotel manager.
“We gave our dummy customer 10 notes of 500 denomination and asked him to go to the hotel with one more witness. After the deal, the dummy customer went inside the room with the foreign woman while the witness gave us a sign from outside the hotel. The police thereafter raided the hotel. Room number 104 was found to be closed and the woman police knocked on the door and found the dummy customer and the foreigner inside,” said the police.
After the raid, police arrested hotel manager Nehaz Nafis Hyderali Saiyed (31) a native of Odisha who told the police that two persons Romi alias Nikhil Mandal and Mukesh alias Pappukumar Giri had brought the foreigner to the hotel.
According to the police, the manager takes Rs 5,000 per customer and gives Rs 3,000 to Romi and Mukesh. The woman revealed of being paid Rs 1,500 per customer.
The AHTU handed over the custody of the rescued woman to Mahidharpura for further investigation. “We have sent the foreign national to Nari Sanrakshan Gruh of Surat. She had a valid visa till 2024 to stay in India but has violated the visa rules. We have started the process to deport her,” Mahidharpura police inspector told TOI.