Thane court acquits 3 women in prostitution racket case

A special court in Maharashtra’s Thane has acquitted three women accused of trafficking girls for prostitution after the prosecution failed to examine the key decoy customer and the minors.

A copy of the order dated May 29 was made available on Sunday.

Special Judge (POCSO) S P Agarwal acquitted Sharminbanu, alias Zeenat Yunus Siddhiqui (36), Rizwana Javed Khan (27), and Afsana, alias Muskan Anis Shaikh (25), who were charged under the Indian Penal Code, the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (PITA), and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

The prosecution alleged that police on September 27, 2017, exposed a prostitution racket being operated from a flat in Mumbra near Thane after a decoy customer was sent to the spot. He was found with a 17-year-old girl, who had been allegedly pushed into prostitution, when the police arrived. More minor girls were rescued from the flat, the prosecution said, adding that three women were named in the FIR for their alleged involvement in the illegal activity.

However, none of the independent witnesses, the girls, or the decoy customer testified during the trial, noted the court. Pointing to the testimony of the informant, the court termed it “hearsay in nature.”

The judge declined to rely only on the evidence of the decoy customer. The court further noted that the Call Detail Record (CDR) lacked exact locations and no chemical was applied to the “seized trap money.”

Concluding that the prosecution had “failed to prove the allegations against all accused”, the judge acquitted them.