ANJUNA: A group of 50-odd villagers, on Tuesday afternoon, caught five pimps for running sex trade at two separate spas at D’Mello Waddo in Anjuna, thrashed, paraded them in public and then handed them over to the police.
The Anjuna police placed them under arrest and rescued two victims. Two of the assaulted pimps had to be admitted at Mapusa District Hospital.
The villagers demanded the Anjuna PI Navlesh Dessai to initiate action against the illegal activity happening in the village.
The villagers urged the PI Dessai to come to spot and to ascertain how the sex trade was going on in full swing at two spas.
Acting on the demands of the villagers, PI Navlesh Dessai and his team visited the spot where the locals caught five pimps and noticed that the premises comprising an old Portuguese house was used as a massage centre.
The seven accused were found to be running the trade by procuring the victims girls and supplying them to customers. It was also revealed that the accused persons were living on the earnings of the victim girls who were knowingly trafficked to engage them for sexual exploitation.
A case has been registered under Section 370 (A) (2) read with 34 Indian Penal Code, Section 4 and 5 of the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1956.
PI Navlesh Dessai said that he would not allow any kind of illegal activity to be carried out in the jurisdiction of Anjuna police station.
“The main accused Shakir Hussain along with four others was arrested and taken into police custody. The villagers should feel free and call me if they come across any kind of illegal activity taking place in Anjuna. We will carry out a raid and take necessary action to maintain law and order in Anjuna. We will follow the right procedures and arrest the owners of the spas and massage parlours found carrying out illicit activities,” PI Dessai said.
The locals have requested Sarpanch Savio Almeida to revoke the NOC given to the spa and massage parlour.
The Sarpanch assured the locals that he would revoke the NOC given by the panchayat. He stated that he was very grateful to the people for standing united to weed out this menace from the village.
