Police had raided the same dhaba five times earlier, but did not get any lead. However, the fifth time, they found the women hidden underneath the bathroom. After persistent efforts, the police finally zeroed in on the spot which was under the first room.
The incident seems to have transpired from a Bollywood flick. In fact, a similar case had transpired in Mumbai where police rescued women from a secret chamber and busted a prostitution racket. In a similar bid in Mandya, the police cracked a flesh trade racket from a bunker under a dhaba in Srirangapatna. So far, 19 people have been arrested.
According to the police, it was difficult to crack the case even after five attempts since the women were kept in a secret chamber under a bathroom and police had no clue about their whereabouts even though they had concrete proof regarding the allegation. Speaking to the Bangalore Mirror, a police officer said, "We raided the same dhaba five years ago. Despite having raided the dhaba four times, the police could not nab the accused and rescue the victims. In fact, we did not even trace anything. We could not establish the prostitution link despite having got clear leads. It was a huge challenge.”
When police searched the premises, they could not find anything. The officer further added, "After a tip-off, we rushed to the dhaba. Initially, they closed the entry. When we managed to enter the premises, we could not spot any women."
However, the police opted to wait out when a second tip of came, forcing them to search the area once more. "It was then an informers told us they have constructed a ‘cave’ inside the dhaba under the bathroom. Yet, we failed to locate the exact spot,” the officer said. After persistent efforts, the police finally zeroed in on the spot which was under the first room. “We entered the 1st room and inspected the bath room, but we did not see any signs of a bunker there. We started breaking down the toilet. When we broke the slabs, we heard the screams of women”, said a police officer. He further added, “At a time, only two persons could sneak in through a hole to reach the bunker which was spacious enough to accommodate seven people. Looks like the dugout was built during the construction of dhaba itself.”
