Acting on a tip-off from the International Justice Mission (IJM), the Thane police's anti-human trafficking cell rescued six girls from a brothel in Bhiwandi in the wee hours of October 20. The police were not able to nab the brothel-keeper, who continues to be on the run, but they managed to apprehend one of her employees.

Two of the six girls are from Karnataka. One of them is a 17-year-old. She was brought to the city three years ago by her boyfriend, who then sold her to a brothel-keeper in Turbhe. According to sources from the team that conducted the raid, "The 17-year-old's plight was apparent as she immediately ran into the arms of the woman sub-inspector at the time of the rescue. She informed the police about how her boyfriend from Karnataka had handed her over to a brothel keeper in Turbhe."