Police arrested nine persons including five women from a flat at Jadavpur late on Thursday night. Police said the manager and agents were remanded in police custody for three days after being produced before a court while the rests were remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.
Acting on a tip-off, a team comprising policemen from Jadavpur police station conducted a raid in the flat situated near Jadavpur 8B bus stand. The police had received information that the sleaze racket had been operating in the flat for the past few months. A person had taken the flat on rent from its owner saying that he would start a business. The policemen went their posing as a prospective customers and caught the accused red-handed. A police officer said that some local people had helped them to run the racket in the posh area.
The police suspect that the manager was involved in human trafficking racket and sought his custody when produced before the court. He will be questioned to know whether he had connection with any inter-state human trafficking racket.
In another such incident, a beauty parlour in Asansol was sealed by the local civic bodies on charges of engaging women from a northern state to run an "illegal" trade. The local civic authorities have received information that women were engaged to lure people saying that it is a massage parlour. They used to charge Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 from each person visiting the parlour.
The civic authorities had been receiving repeated complaints against the parlour from local people and they alleged that certain "illegal" activities take place there. Thus, the civic authorities went to the spot on Thursday morning and sealed the parlour.
The civic authorities are keeping a watch whether such activities are taking place in any other parlour in the area.