Gondia police raid lodge near railway station, rescue four women, arrest owner

A prostitution racket run from a lodge in a crowded area of Gondia city, near the railway station, has been busted. Acting on a tip-off, Gondia police raided Radhika Lodge, which falls under the Gondia City police station limits, and rescued four women.

The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) team, acting on the direct instructions of Superintendent of Police Gorakh Bhamre and Additional Superintendent of Police Abhay Dongre, surrounded the lodge on all sides. The team raided Radhika Lodge in the presence of independent witnesses. The sudden arrival of the police caused panic inside the lodge.

During the search, it emerged that the lodge operator, Jagdish Bhamnani (54), a resident of Hemu Colony Chowk, Yadav Chowk, Gondia, was forcing the four rescued women into prostitution, police said.

Police brought all four women out safely and took Bhamnani into custody. A case, crime number 807/2026, has been registered against him at Gondia City police station under Sections 143(2)(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (PITA), 1956. He has been arrested and sent to jail.

Police are now searching for other middlemen and customers linked to the racket.

The operation was carried out under the guidance of Superintendent of Police Gorakh Bhamre and Additional Superintendent of Police Abhay Dongre. It involved Naxal Cell Police Inspector Pramod Bhatnate, AHTU Woman Assistant Police Inspector Manisha Nikam, Assistant Sub-Inspector Jitendra Mishra, head constables Balraj Lanjewar and Rupesh Sukhdeve, woman head constable Shilpa Badwaik, constables Ravindrakumar Meshram and Manju Bagde, and driver woman constable Surekha Mendhe.

Further investigation into the case is under way. The charges against the accused are yet to be proved in court.