Bhojpuri actress among 6 rescued from flesh trade

Cops arrest 3 people following raid on Loni Kalbhor lodge; hunt on for kingpin

A Bhojpuri model-actor was among six women rescued from the flesh trade by the Pune Rural police following a raid on a lodge in Loni Kalbhor on Sunday evening. The police arrested three people. Two of the arrested peopel were agents and the third was the lodge manager.

The three were identified as Sitara Rashiram Pathak (36), Shanti Laxman Giri(20), both agents, and Govind Lature (28), the manager. The police are looking for the kingpin of the racket, identified as Ajay Patil. "Pathak and Giri had lured the women into prostitution. They and Lature have been booked under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA) Sections 3, 4, 5," said Police Inspector Suhas Garud.

Police officials said three of the six rescued were graduates, while the others were school dropouts. One of the women revealed she had acted in several Bhojpuri TV serials, before coming to the city, said the police.

All the women had come to the state in search of jobs and were cheated. "The women were working in dance bars and were compelled to shift to the flesh trade after several bars in Mumbai shut down. They were living in Kalyaninagar and were operating in Pune city and rural area. They confessed they were engaged in prostitution for the last three years and had come in contact with the Kalyaninagar-based agents," said Garud.