Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Mar 19: In a significant action against cyber-enabled crimes, the Goa Crime Branch has dismantled an inter-state prostitution network, arresting three individuals accused of operating websites that hosted and circulated explicit and objectionable content, officials confirmed on Thursday.

The operation, carried out in collaboration with the Social Media Monitoring Cell, led to the shutdown of 22 illegal escort websites that were allegedly being used to facilitate the racket.

Following sustained surveillance, authorities registered an FIR on March 9 under provisions of the IT Act and the Indecent Representation of Women’s Act. According to Superintendent of Police (Crime/Cyber Crime) Rahul Gupta, technical analysis pointed to Narayan Rao, originally from Shivamogga in Karnataka, as the key figure behind the operation.

Subsequent raids conducted in Nerul and Bardez areas of Goa on March 14 resulted in the arrest of three suspects. The accused have been identified as V. Narayan Rao (40), believed to be the mastermind, Shahbaz Khan (33) from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, and Manjunath Shahshetty (36) from Bidar, Karnataka.

During the raids, law enforcement officials seized a laptop and five mobile phones, including one device directly connected to the illegal websites. Investigators also uncovered financial transactions linked to the operation, with payments being made by victims through digital platforms such as Google Pay and other UPI services.

Police stated that the accused were financially dependent on proceeds generated through the prostitution network. Based on these findings, additional charges under the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act were invoked.

Further interrogation has revealed that the network was not limited to Goa but had operations spanning multiple cities, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur, and Delhi. Authorities have frozen a bank account linked to the main ?????, which contained Rs 2.34 lakh.

The probe, led by SP Jivba Dalvi under the supervision of SP Rahul Gupta, is ongoing as officials continue efforts to identify more victims and trace the wider financial and operational network of the syndicate.

The arrested individuals have been remanded to three days of police custody to enable further interrogation and uncover additional details about the racket.