Guwahati: Guwahati police have arrested the owner and manager of Hotel Bilas in the Paltan Bazar area after a raid on Friday. A team from the Paltan Bazar police station allegedly found the premises being used as a brothel.
The arrests were announced by Guwahati Police on their official X handle on Saturday. The two men have been identified as Kiran Kumar Gogoi (40), the owner, and Simanta Bora (28), the manager.
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Gogoi, a journalist, previously worked for several Guwahati-based news outlets, including the now-defunct Frontier TV and a news portal.
A case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (ITP Act).
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The BNS, which came into effect on July 1, 2024, replaced the Indian Penal Code. The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act of 1956 aims to prevent the trafficking of individuals for commercial sexual exploitation.
This operation is one of a series of recent raids in Guwahati on small hotels, guest houses, and spas suspected of being fronts for prostitution rings organized through online platforms.
In previous cases, investigators have used guest registers, CCTV footage, and online advertisements to identify clients and organizers.
Recent cases of these crackdowns include a raid on a guest house in Jayanagar that led to multiple arrests and the rescue of women, as well as separate incidents where missing minors were recovered from hotels near the Bora Service area.
These incidents, according to police, highlight a pattern of exploitation in the city. Municipal authorities have also taken action by demolishing unauthorized spas and hotels.
Civil society groups have praised the Hotel Bilas raid but urged authorities to focus on protecting and rehabilitating victims.
Legal experts noted that while the ITP Act is frequently used in cases of online facilitation, successful prosecutions require solid digital and documentary evidence to target organizers and avoid criminalizing victims.
Investigators plan to examine the hotel’s logs, CCTV footage, phone records, and payment trails to determine if the case is connected to a larger network.