Ramnagar: An alleged Sex racket was busted at a luxury resort in Ramnagar, Uttarakhand, close to from where safaris to the Jim Corbett National Park start.
Authorities arrested 52 people and rescued 10 women, including a minor, during the raid. The resort has been ordered to shut down operations till investigations are on.
Ramnagar is known as the gateway to Jim Corbett National Park. Such activities, so close to the country’s oldest national park, have come as a shock for the authorities.
The intelligence-based operations was conducted jointly by the Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU), the Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Ramnagar Police.
When officers entered the premises, they allegedly found a private party in progress. Police claimed women performed obscene dances while guests threw cash at them. Several items consi
dered important to the investigation were recovered during the search, as reported by News18.
The event was allegedly organised by Meerut-based businessman Umendra Kumar, the police have come to know. He allegedly booked the resort for July 4 and July 5 by paying around Rs 2.20 lakh. Police alleged the gathering was organised for people connected to his pesticide manufacturing business.
Women participating in the event were allegedly promised around Rs 10,000 each, investigations have revealed.
The role of the resort has also come under the scanner after it came to be known that an attempt was made to hide the identities of people attending the event. Investigators alleged that the resort’s general manager instructed employees not to record the names of guests or the women in the visitors’ register.
This alleged omission is being treated by officials as an effort to conceal evidence, following which the resort was sealed, pending further investigation.
The accused have been booked under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) along with the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the Juvenile Justice Act, and the Excise Act.
The presence of a minor among those rescued has added to the seriousness of the case and widened the scope of the investigation.
It is now being checked this was an isolated incident or whether such activities are common at resorts near the national park.