Jajpur, Aug. 29: Dharmasala police on Tuesday arrested three women for allegedly running a sex racket at a residential colony in Jaraka Bazar.

The three women who were held on Tuesday are all in their 20s.

“We had repeatedly informed the police earlier that a sex racket was running at a particular house in our colony. But, they did not take any action. When we saw some youths going to that house last night, we locked it from outside. The police reached the spot in the morning,” said Raghunandan Das, a resident of the colony.

A mason, identified as Deba Barala of Abadana village, allegedly ran the racket from the two-storied building in Jaraka Bazar. He allegedly lured girls from Balasore, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur and Cuttack into the racket.

The police said an investigation was on to ascertain the house owner’s involvement in the act.

“We have arrested three persons and detained a few more in this connection. However, two persons managed to flee from the spot during the raid. We are investigating all aspects of the case,” said Suvendu Kumar Sinha, inspector in charge of the Dharmasala police station.

“We have sent the arrested trio for medical examination, following which they would be forwarded to court. A case has also been registered in this connection,” said the inspector.

Last Tuesday, six persons, including three students, were arrested when cops busted another sex racket at Vyas Nagar town in this district.