Bhubaneswar, March 25: Police have started a manhunt to nab kingpin Sunil Meher for his alleged involvement in a sex racket that was busted on Wednesday.

Meher is suspected to have brought a Russian woman, who was rescued during the raid, to the city for flesh trade.

This is the first incident of involvement of a foreigner in such a racket in the city.

"We have constituted a special team to nab Meher. Besides, we have also decided to serve notice to the owner of the flat," deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi said.

The police today also communicated with the Kyrgyzstan embassy after the 29-year-old woman was rescued by Chandrasekharpur police on Wednesday.

Bhoi said that they had written to the Kyrgyzstan embassy in Delhi to furnish the tour details of the woman.

The police had arrested a pimp identified as Somesh Panda who was accompanying the woman when the cops conducted the raid at an apartment in Chandrasekharpur.

Further investigation revealed that Panda had close links with Meher, who had been arrested several times by the police for running illegal sex rackets.

The cops had also revealed that the foreigner had landed in India in February with a tourist visa, which is valid till April 4.

"Somesh told us that the woman was charging Rs 20,000 a night. Healso told that he had brought the woman from Calcutta the day before she was rescued from the apartment," said a senior police official.

Proliferation of sex rackets in the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar has become a major concern for the police. In 2015, the police had registered 21 cases against sex rackets in the twin cities and arrested 75 people and rescued 34. In July last year, the police had busted a sex racket run by Meher in Nayapalli and rescued four girls, including a small-time model from Mumbai. The cops had come to know that the girl had been flown into the city and paid Rs 3 lakh.

According to the police, pimps are nowadays targeting residential areas since the cops have started cracking down such sex rackets operating in the guise of beauty parlours and massage centres. In October last year, the cops had busted such a racket running in a posh apartment in Khandagiri.

Investigation had revealed that Uttam Behera had taken the apartment on a monthly rent of Rs 15,000.

Keeping an eye on the flourishing sex rackets in residential areas, the police had earlier made the landlords mandatory to register their tenants with police stations concerned.

The landlords are required to submit the particulars of tenants such as permanent address, occupation, phone number, photo copy of identity proof of tenant such as passport, driving licence, voter card, PAN card and ration card.

One held with guns

Sambalpur police arrested a criminal yesterday and seized firearms and ammunition from his possession. The accused has been identified as Sanjaya Gupta alias Guddu, 36, of Jharsuguda district. The police said the accused was arrested during a car checking drive in the district.