AHTU rescued about 200 victims and registered about 100 cases with assistance from SOT and local police
Post Date – 08:00 AM, Sat – 05/06/23
representative image.
Hyderabad: In one of the biggest crackdowns in recent years against those involved in trafficking in women, Cyberabad police have arrested about 300 suspects involved in organized prostitution and registered about 100 cases in the past seven months. Police rescued around 200 victims during the raid.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Women’s Safety) Nitika Pant told Telangana Today that the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) is leading the operation against the PITA organizers in Cyberabad with the assistance of the Special Operations Unit and local police.
“At least 25 of the suspects arrested in the operation were notorious, had links to traffickers from other countries and foreign countries, and forced prostitution of thousands of victims. The operation was based on field work and technical supervision. Special Team Several states of the country were visited to apprehend suspects involved in illegal activities,” she said.
The police found that the organizers were in contact with women from different states including Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat, Delhi, Bihar and others. The international victims are from Uzbekistan and Bangladesh.
“The organizers lured victims with high sums of money. In addition to hotel accommodation, meals and local travel, they also arranged air tickets and train tickets for them. However, the organizers earned multiples of the amount paid to the victims and exploited They,” Nitika Pant said.
Organizers were found to be forming WhatsApp groups to share photos of the victims, bringing them to the city and forcing them into prostitution. “It was a complex network involving several organizers from across the country who communicated regularly via WhatsApp,” the DCP said.
Police raided residential detached houses, apartment buildings, commercial complexes and guest houses during the operation. “In 47 cases, notices of cause were issued to owners, and in another 29 cases premises including hotels, residential buildings and spas were also seized,” the DCP said.
To curb these illegal activities, the police also removed some of the websites that organizers used to attract customers. Likewise, the police have also asked online advertising portals to remove advertisements on their portals. Police invoked the PD Act against more than 25 organizers.
