Shiv Sena leader held over sex racket

Mumbai: The anti-human trafficking cell (AHTC) on Saturday morning arrested a woman Shiv Sena leader from Ulhasnagar, who allegedly ran a sex racket, in Kalyan.

According to police officials, Shobha Galmadu (40) was running prostitution operations in Kalyan, Badlapur and Ambernath for the past two years and extorting money from sex workers. The AHTC unit also arrested Suresh Shetty and Vinod Yadav, the manager and a driver employed with the Durga Palace lodge, which is situated near Birla College in Kalyan.

Speaking about the case, the AHTC’s PI Ravindra Daundkar said, “We received a tip about Galmadu’s illegal business activities a few days ago. On Saturday, we were told that she had visited Durga Palace lodge with a client. We laid a trap early in the morning and arrested her while she was in possession of cash that she had received from her client. She was distributing money to girls and hotel workers at the time.”

Officials also learnt that Galmadu had underprivileged girls working under her, and she would allegedly demand Rs 5,000 from each of them while paying them only Rs 500 or Rs 200. She also extorted money from the girls even as her business had expanded exponentially in Kalyan, Ulhasnagar and Badlapur.

Officials recovered Rs 4,000 at the spot of the arrest and later seized Rs 59,000 in cash from her house. The police has recorded statements of the sex workers whom Galmadu allegedly used to harass. All three accused were arrested under Sections 370(2)(3) of the Indian Penal Code, which deal with trafficking of persons, and various sections of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act at the MFC police station in Kalyan.

(This story originally appeared in The Asian Age)