Bhubaneswar: Police on Friday advised landlords staying away from their houses to keep tabs on the activities of their tenants after a sex racket was busted at Gajapati Nagar in Saheed Nagar police station area on Friday.
The owner of the house, a bank official in Dhenkanal, had rented out his house two months ago.
Acting on a tip-off, the cops raided the house, rescued three women and arrested three persons, including a woman pimp, who was the mastermind behind the racket. The illegal trade was being run from the rented house for the past three months.
"The woman pimp had taken the house on rent citing that her family would stay there. But she has been running flesh trade from there. The customers used to visit the house claiming themselves as her relatives. We have also summoned the house owner," said a police officer.
Deputy commissioner of police Anup Kumar Sahoo advised the landlords to be careful while renting out their premises. "A number of houseowners have rented out their premises though they are not staying outside the state capital. They must be careful and verify the activity of the tenants. The police have the power to declare such houses as brothels and seal those for a time of one year," said Sahoo.
Sahoo also advised the landlords to submit the details of the tenants with the respective police stations.
Last year, the cops had sealed seven establishments - including hotels and beauty parlours - in the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar for a period of one year for running sex racket.
However, despite the stringent measures adopted by the police, sex rackets continue to thrive in the state capital.
On May 9, the cops busted a sex racket operating from a guesthouse at Nayapalli area and rescued three girls.
Dengue awareness
The municipal corporation in Cuttack here organised a dengue awareness rally with the help of accredited social health activists on Friday.
The civic body's Swachh Bharat Abhijan ambassador, Odia cinestar Arindam, flagged off the rally from the civic body headquarters.
