Role limited to just a ‘customer': Student gets bail in sex racket
The trafficking came to light on September 20, 2024, when police constable Avisha Dhonsekar, attached to the anti-human trafficking cell of the Navi Mumbai police, received a tip-off about the alleged trafficking in Panvel, where girls aged between 16 and 17 were being forced into sex work allegedly by one Vejad Ali Khan alias Raju Mondal. Consequently, they raided the lodge and rescued seven women, including a Bangladeshi minor.
The accused – Shayna Jaman, Bibi Shahidue, Shubo Sardar, and Mihir Bhise– had brought the seven victims from Kolkata to Navi Mumbai. They forced them into sex work and booked a room at the Panchratna Lodge in Panvel. Tejas Sachin Shelke, a third-year B Sc student, paid the accused to engage in sex with one of the victims.
The next day, all five of them, along with Raju Mondal, were booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (PITA Act) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act). Sheke was arrested on September 29 and on December 10, 2024, he applied for his first bail for the POCSO offence against him. In his bail application before the additional sessions judge, he said he was not aware of the girl's age as her ID said she was 22. Aggrieved by its rejection on January 16, 2025, Shelke approached the Bombay High Court in February this year for enlargement on bail.
Additional Public Prosecutor Madhavi H Mhatre submitted that Shelke had forced the Bangladeshi minor into the flesh trade and had a physical relationship with her for a price. She added that he knew that the minor victim's identity card was forged to show that she was 22 years of age.
On the other hand, advocate Ganesh Gupta, representing Shelke, submitted that even if the allegations in the crime are considered, Shelke's status would be that of a customer. As the victim's age on the ID card showed she was 22, the allegations against Shelke would not be tenable.
Noting that Shelke was arraigned in the crime in the capacity of being a customer, the single-judge bench of justice Ashwin Bhobe said Shelke cannot be expected to know the age of a woman.
Moreover, finding no solid evidence against Shelke for having forced the victim into the flesh trade, the bench granted him bail on a personal bond of ₹25 thousand with stringent conditions. 'Applicant is a student aged 23 years. His involvement in the present crime, being that of a customer, and considering the facts and circumstances of the case, he would be entitled to bail as his incarceration during the pendency of trial is not warranted,' it concluded.
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