It was just a small mirror in a bathroom, one that would normally not raise any suspicion. But to the surprise of police officers from Coimbatore, behind the mirror in the lodge they were raiding was a small room in which a woman had been kept captive. A 22-year-old woman from Bengaluru was rescued and sent to a government women’s home while two men were arrested by the police on Wednesday.
According to reports, on Wednesday, the Coimbatore police conducted a raid in Saranya Lodge, on Ooty road near Kallar in Mettupalayam sub-division based on a tip-off. During the raid, the police discovered a secret room in the lodge, to which there was a window sized entry and that had been with a dressing mirror. The window opened to a tiny room with a single-cot and mattress where a 22-year-old woman was allegedly held by two men Mahendran (46) and Ganesan (36). Mahendran was reportedly running the lodge for the last three years and Ganesan worked as a room boy in the lodge and both hailed from Vellore district.
The police immediately rescued the woman and sent her to a women’s home and arrested the two men. The lodge was also sealed after the raid.
Speaking to TNM, a police officer from the station said that the woman had reached the lodge only a few days ago. "The lodge was functioning for a long time and was being used by tourists before COVID-19. The woman had come to Coimbatore from Bengaluru only 2-3 days ago and was held by the two men in the lodge since then. Due to COVID-19 shutdown, the lodge was not open for business," he said.
The police registered an FIR under various sections of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and the IPC and have remanded the two accused men to judicial custody.