IT Correspondent
Mumbai, Jan 23:
A casting couch and his two women accomplices were nabbed and 8 models were rescued, by crime intelligence unit (CIU) of the Mumbai Police after laying a trap in a hotel in Juhu in northwest Mumbai on Wednesday.
Cash amounting to Rs 5,59,000, 15 smart phones, and a Duster car were seized and eight models who were being forced into prostitution, were rescued by a CIU team led by API Sachin Vaze..
During the investigation, it was revealed that the rescued women have worked in several advertisements and also acted in various movies, web series, etc. All the rescued women complained that the accused used to ask them to compromise to get roles.
Acting on the information that a casting director claiming his name as “Prem” was pushing aspiring models/actors into prostitution racket, the police personnel contacted a given contact number by posing as a customer and deposited Rs 2 lakh as bait in the (bank) account number provided by “Prem”.
“As pre-decided, a woman was to come to the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Juhu. A trap was laid by the crime branch team with officials of Social Service branch of police and aided the room and nabbed Prem and two women,” the police press note said.
While three were held, eight were rescued by the Police. The three accused were arrested under relevant provisions of Prevention of Immoral Traffic Act (PITA) 1956 along with sections 120B, 370, 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). “Prem”s interrogation revealed that at least ten women, including eight models, were part of the prostitution ring, an official said adding that clients used to contact the members of the racket through various websites.