20 held as Sewri prostitution racket busted

MUMBAI: Twenty people were arrested and 41 girls were rescued after police busted a prostitution racket allegedly operating from a bar and guesthouse in Central Mumbai, police said on Monday.

 

Acting on a tip-off, the police simultaneously raided Udupi Restaurant and Bar and Udupi Guest House run by Shubhanand Shetty (58) in Sewri on Saturday night, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Enforcement) Subodh Mohite said here.
    
Shetty, waiters and stewards of the bar were among those arrested, while 41 girls were rescued during the raids. The girls, who worked as waitresses in the bar, were solicited by customers and taken to the guesthouse, he said.

 

The arrested were booked under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act and produced before a holiday court that sent them in police custody till January 6. The girls were sent to a women's shelter.