Thane, Jun 7: A man has been arrested here for allegedly pushing girls into flesh trade, police said today.
The arrest was made after police received a tip-off that some persons were transporting girls for the illegal trade.
Police then kept a vigil at Kalyan junction (naka) and nabbed one person, Modin Mandal (39), on Wednesday evening while he was trying to strike a deal for four girls for Rs 1,500 each, with a person posing as a decoy customer.
Mandal, originally from Kolkata and residing in Thane district's Mumbra township, had brought the girls to the spot and was trying to hand them over to pimps, police said.
The four girls were rescued by police and three of them were handed over to an NGO for rehabilitation, while another one, a minor, was sent to a remand home in Bhiwandi.
Modin was produced before a local court yesterday, which remanded him in police custody for three days.
Meanwhile, police have launched a manhunt for two alleged pimps - Siraj and Rahul - who were suspected to come at the spot to strike a deal with Mandal, but ran away after finding that Mandal was caught.
An offence under relevant sections has been registered by Daighar police against Mandal and the two others absconding accused in the case, police added.
