Shillong, Mar 29: Following several complaints received from various concerned citizens and local stakeholders, a coordinated operation was launched on the evening of March 28 at various locations in the city to crack down on prostitution.
During the course of the raids, 16 people were apprehended while engaged in activities indicative of prostitution and related “immoral” practices, police said.
Four of those arrested are suspected pimps. Police did not say how many of the remaining 12 are sex workers. Furthermore, one car and two two-wheelers used in the “commission of the offence” have been seized by police. A police case has been registered at Sadar Police Station.
Police had received complaints that prostitution was being conducted in close proximity to places of worship and there were also fears expressed for a potential rise in HIV/AIDS cases.
The raids were conducted along the stretch from Khyndailad to Hotel Pegasus and the Presbyterian English Service Church up to the State Bank of India main branch; opposite the MBOSE office in Lachaumiere; and IGP Point.
The police team was led by Additional Superintendent of Police (Ops) Ivan Diengdoh, assisted by Deputy SP Joyti Wahlang, along with other officers and personnel of East Khasi Hills police.
There will certainly be scrutiny over the police’s actions as, in a landmark 2022 order, the Supreme Court recognised sex work as a “profession” and ordered that consenting adult sex workers should not be arrested, penalised, or harassed by police, as their work is not illegal, though running a brothel is. The court emphasised dignity, equal protection and safety from violence, ensuring immediate medico-legal care for victims of assault.
