Police in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district busted an alleged sex trafficking racket operating from two residential properties during coordinated raids on Thursday. Four people, including two women accused of running the establishments, were arrested, while two minor girls were rescued and later reunited with their families after counselling.

The action was carried out by teams from Kotwali Police Station, Jutmill Police Station and the Cyber Cell following specific intelligence inputs about illegal activities at the two locations.

Decoy Customer Helped Crack the Case

According to police, information was received that commercial sexual exploitation was being carried out from a house in the Danipara area near Laltanki under the Kotwali police station limits.

To verify the information, police first sent a decoy customer to the premises. After receiving a pre-arranged signal confirming the alleged activity, officers conducted a raid.

During the operation, police arrested Laxmi Sharma (46), alleged to be operating the premises, and Rishabh Sharma (24), who was present as a customer.

Police also recovered cash, mobile phones and other material believed to be connected with the alleged offence.

Two Minor Girls Rescued

During the search, officers found two minor girls in separate rooms of the house.

The girls were rescued, provided counselling and later handed over to their families in accordance with legal procedures.

During questioning, the accused woman allegedly told investigators that she had been operating the illegal activity from her house for the past one to two years by bringing women to the premises and sharing a portion of the money received from customers.

Second Raid Conducted in Mitthumuda

In a parallel operation, police teams raided another house near Durga Chowk in Mitthumuda under the Jutmill police station limits.

As in the first case, a decoy customer was sent to verify the information before officers entered the premises.

Police arrested Sunita Mehar (48), alleged to be running the operation, along with Abhay Singh (42), who was present as a customer. Material related to the alleged prostitution racket was also seized during the search.

Two women found at the premises reportedly informed investigators that they had been brought there for commercial sexual exploitation.

Cases Registered Under Relevant Laws

Police have registered separate cases against the accused under provisions of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (ITPA).

In the first case, provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act have also been invoked because minors were found at the location.

All four accused were produced before a local court on Friday and were subsequently remanded to judicial custody.

Police said the investigation is continuing to identify any additional persons connected with the alleged trafficking network and to determine whether the racket has links beyond the two locations.