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EM graphics on forced prostitution[/caption]
Dimapur, March 18 (EMN): The Dimapur police on Monday rescued 17 women from “hotels operating as brothels” in the New Market area.
A press release from the district police informed that six persons were arrested during the raid described as “a planned and coordinated exercise comprising of senior officers and a forty-member team.”
The accused were named as: Amit Prasad, aged 18; Md. Almas Ali (19 yrs); Medozhosa (33 yrs); Hojrat Ali (22 yrs); Ajay Chandra (38 yrs); and Saidul Islam (27 yrs).
The rescued women were later handed over to different agencies “for rehabilitation as per the legal procedure,” according to the press release.
“The modus operandi involved forced confinement in the hotels wherein the females would be locked inside the multiple rooms during ‘business hours.’ Initial inquiry has also revealed that these female victims would be further subjected to extortion from their daily earnings by a network of pimps and hotel managers. It was also found that the temporary living condition of the victims were abjectly poor.”
The raid was part of the Dimapur police initiative to combat “human trafficking for sexual exploitation,” it stated. “In this regard show cause notices under section 18(1) of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act are being served to the owners of the hotel buildings as to why the property should not be attached by the government for prevention of further misuse.
“In addition, correspondences are being processed to the Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) for cancellation of trade licences. A criminal case has already been registered in Women PS under relevant sections of IPC and IT (P) Act for further investigation,” the police informed.