Mumbai: Bangur Nagar cops bust sex work racket in Goregaon; arrest 2

A 62-year-old former Bollywood artiste was arrested with her cook for running a high-profile sex work racket from her home in Goregaon.

The accused were arrested on Saturday. Police said that they rescued a make-up artist and two persons, who wanted to be actors, from the flat at the time of the raid.

The Bangur Nagar police, who are investigating the case, received a tip-off about one Kanika Goldar, a resident of Bhagat Singh Nagar in Goregaon, engaging struggling actors in sex work. Based on the information, the cops went undercover with a fake customer striking a deal with Goldar.

During the negotiation between the accused and fake customer, the cops barged into the flat and arrested Goldar with her cook Naresh Kumar Dangi for running sex work racket. They also rescued three girls aged 19, 26 and 28 respectively from her home.

Police sources told mid-day that the rescued women, who have been sent to a shelter, hail from Kolkata. One of them is a make-up artist for television serials and other two are struggling actors.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused has been running the racket for the past six years. We suspect that it is a larger network than we assumed initially. There are more girls suspected to be involved in the network. We are investigating the case from all angles,” said a police officer from Bangur Nagar police station on the condition of anonymity.

Goldar had come to the city several years ago dreaming of making it big in Bollywood. However, she landed only small gigs. She began a network of sex work after she was not landing more gigs.