Chennai, Aug 22 (IANS): Police in Coimbatore were in for a surprise when they raided the Saranya Lodge near Mettupalayam.

Acting on a tip-off, the police raided the lodge on Wednesday night. Akin to a movie where a secret chamber is present behind a picture, they found a small room behind a mirror inside one the rooms and rescued a woman.

"We had searched all the rooms and found them empty. But one off the rooms had two mirrors each located in opposite directions. On pushing one of the mirrors opened towards inside," a police official in Mettupalayam told IANS.

He said the lodge owner/operator had converted part of the bathroom into a secret room. "With the help of a small stool one can climb into or outside of the small room," the police official said.

The police arrested two persons for running a sex racket in the lodge and rescued a 22-year-old woman from Bengaluru who was in the secret room.

The police said K. Mahendran had taken the lodge on lease and had employed R. Ganesan as a staff.

The business took a hit due to Covid-19 lockdown as most of the customers were tourists to Ooty.

The police said it is yet to be ascertained whether the room was built by Mahendran or by earlier operators.