A joint task force of the Durg City Kotwali Police and the Anti-Crime and Cyber Unit (ACCU) busted a major commercial sex racket operating under the guise of an ice-cream parlor and sweet shop at Jalaram Lodge in Indra Market on Sunday afternoon.

The establishment, located on the busy Indra Market main road, used strict security screening methods, denying entry to new walk-ins and entertaining only verified repeat clients whose mobile numbers were preregistered in the operator's database. Following an intensive five-hour operation monitored by senior IPS officers, police arrested seven individuals, including the lodge owner, three women, and two clients, while seizing a large stash of contraceptive packets and cash.

Infiltration Strategy: Dummy Client Sent to Confirm Activity

Acting on precise intelligence that a prostitution ring was operating from the upper floors of the commercial property, the police formulated a full-proof infiltration plan to avoid legal loopholes.

Chronology of the Sting Operation:

├── Sunday, 03:00 PM : Joint ACCU & Kotwali teams arrive in unmarked vehicles at Indra Market

├── Phase 1 Deployment: A decoy police officer enters Jalaram Lodge posing as a customer

├── Phase 2 Trigger    : Decoy confirms illegal activity; sends a pre-coded green signal via text

└── Phase 3 Execution  : Heavy police details storm the premises; shutters pulled for 5 hours

Under the on-field supervision of IPS Harshit Mehar and DSP Bharti Markam, teams cordoned off the escape routes as soon as the decoy operative transmitted confirmation from inside the lodge.

Dual-Front Layout: Sweet Shop Below, Racket Above

The investigation revealed that the ground floor functioned normally as a popular sweet shop and ice-cream parlor, serving as an effective front. The illegal activities were restricted to the lodge rooms directly above the shop floor.

Local residents admitted having suspicions for months, but the operational secrecy maintained by the managers prevented external confirmation. The management aggressively turned away casual visitors, running the operation purely through an invite-only digital network.

Multiple Bookings Under PITA Act; Contraband Recovered

During the room-by-room searches, police apprehended three women and two male clients in compromising positions. The prime organizer and owner of Jalaram Lodge, identified as Vijay Gujarati, was also cornered and detained on the spot.

Inventory of Seizures:

├── Liquid Cash        : ~₹20,000 (Transactional proceeds)

├── Digital Contraband : 4 Smartphones (Containing client databases)

└── Medical Seizures   : 80 Condom packets & related materials

The City Kotwali police have officially registered a criminal case against the accused under Sections 3, 4, 5, and 7 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (PITA).

The formal arrest logs identified the operator as Vijay Gujarati, alongside two active clients identified as Narayan Deshmukh and Tamasha Kumar Sahu. The three female workers rescued from the site are being questioned to determine if an interstate human trafficking angle was involved in sourcing the personnel. Further technical analysis of the seized smartphones is underway to map out the complete network of regular patrons.