Some of the detained persons at Markat Nagar police station and (below) the building from where the sex racket operated. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, June 17: Six persons including an advocate have been detained by police for allegedly running a flesh trade racket at a residential colony in the Cuttack Development (CDA) Authority area.

A 23-year-old woman, two customers, two alleged pimps and an advocate are being questioned. All of them are in their 20s and the woman is from Cuttack city.

The advocate allegedly ran the racket from a three-storied building in Sector 7. Police said investigation was on to ascertain the exact involvement of the advocate, who is said to be the owner of the residential building.

Acting on a tip-off, a Markat Nagar police team raided the building. “We had specific information that a sex racket was operating from a residential building for the past few months. Based on this information, a raid was conducted and six persons including two alleged pimps have been detained,” said a senior police officer.

The police have also seized cash worth Rs 5,500 and three mobile phones from the woman. Four mobile phones and a car have been seized from the clients.

The police suspect that the advocate was the mastermind of the racket. He was apparently in touch with agents for bringing the girls depending on the requirement of the clients.

“We had suspected some illegal activities were going on in the building,” said Satya Behera, a local resident.

Local residents alerted the police after three youths came near the building looking for a girl. Some residents said such activities were flourishing in the CDA area owing to police inaction.

“This is not the first time that a sex racket has been busted in the area. The police should try to develop its own intelligence network and curb such activities,” said Sanjay Moharana, another local resident.

In May last year, the Markat Nagar police had busted a similar racket in sector 10 and had arrested seven persons including five women.