Internet prostitution racket busted, 2 Uzbeks rescued

While the pimp has been held, the girls have been sent to a reform home

Three girls in their twenties, including two Uzbek nationals, were rescued in a raid carried out by the Cyber Crime Cell and the Social Service Branch of the Mumbai police at a plush bungalow at Pali Village in Khar early on Wednesday morning.

Acting on a tip-off that a prostitution racket was being operated through a website - nicky @indianescorts. com - officials posing as customers called on the mobile number that was flashed on the website. Nafiz Ansari, the alleged pimp answered their call and struck a deal over the phone. Ansari then asked them to come to bungalow 27 in Pali Village.

When officers raided the bungalow, they found the girls waiting for prospective customers. While one of the three girls is a resident of Mumbai, the other two were in the city on a tourist visa. "We are questioning the girls about their associates, if any," said an official, adding that they were investigating whether the accused operated more such websites.

Police have arrested Ansari, 27, and two of his associates Rajesh Paswaan, 26, and Kailash Yadav, 27. The three have been remanded in police custody till September 12. Meanwhile, police are on the lookout for the owner of the bungalow, Sunny Mathur, and two of his associates -Vikram and Mili - who acted as his managers.

The rescued women were produced before the metropolitan magistrate's court at Esplanade on Wednesday. They underwent a medical examination and were then sent to the Navjivan Mahila Sudhar Grihaz in Chembur.