Sex racket busted at spa in Navi Mumbai; 15 women rescued
Navi Mumbai (PTI): Police have busted a flesh trade racket at a spa in Navi Mumbai and rescued 15 women who were being forced into prostitution, officials said.
The spa owner and another person have been arrested, they said.
Based on a tip-off, the police sent a decoy customer to the spa located in Belapur area on September 27 and later conducted a raid at the establishment.
During the operation, they rescued 15 women, including one from Nepal and others hailing from Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Gujarat, a police release said.
The 32-year-old spa owner and a cleaner, aged 42, were arrested.
The accused have been booked under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, the police said.
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At UN, India flags concerns over targeting of vessels in Strait of Hormuz
United Nations (PTI): Targeting commercial shipping, endangering civilian crew and impeding freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is "unacceptable", India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Parvathaneni Harish has said.
Harish's remarks at a special meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNECOSOC) on safeguarding energy and supply flows came days after an India-flagged commercial vessel came under attack off the coast of Oman.
Omani authorities rescued all 14 crew members of the vessel sailing from Somalia, but it was not immediately known who carried out the strike.
In a post on X on Sunday, Harish said that at the UNECOSOC meeting, he shared India's approach to the recent energy and fertiliser crisis caused by the West Asia conflict.
"A combination of short-term and structural measures alongside international cooperation are essential to respond to the crisis," he said.
"Reiterated that targeting of commercial shipping, endangering civilian crew and impeding freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, are unacceptable. International law in this regard must be fully respected," he added.
The attack on the India-flagged vessel on May 13 took place amid the fragile situation in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway close to the coast of Oman through which roughly one-fifth of the world's energy supplies pass.
It has been severely disrupted by the conflict in West Asia that started on February 28, with the US and Israel launching joint attacks on Iran, triggering retaliatory strikes.
Earlier, India had described the attack as "unacceptable".
At least two other Indian-flagged ships have been attacked since the conflict broke out.
According to the UNECOSOC website, the meeting, which took place on Friday, focused on “Safeguarding energy and supply flows: Supporting global development through international cooperation”.
