Nagpur: Doors were locked, shutters pulled down and signboards went silent, but few in the neighbourhoods knew why. Over the past year, Nagpur police have quietly sealed more than 100 rooms spread across 23 properties under Operation Shakti, an aggressive anti-trafficking drive that has turned sealing of premises into the city’s strongest weapon against organised prostitution.
The action was not limited to the city’s infamous Ganga Jamuna red-light pocket. Hotels, lodges and privately owned residential buildings across Nagpur also came under the scanner, with entire premises sealed for a year after police established their use for prostitution. Two more properties are now on the verge of facing the same fate, pending completion of legal formalities. Officials say the scale of sealing is among the highest recorded anywhere in Maharashtra.
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06 Feb 2026
What makes the crackdown striking is how rapidly enforcement has intensified. In 2024, just three rooms were sealed. A year later, the number jumped sharply, with sealing orders issued for 20 premises, though three property owners secured temporary court relief. In 2026, the police have already sealed three more locations, signalling that the drive is far from over.
For the police, sealing a property is not just punishment, it is a warning. “Sealing is the ultimate deterrence, and we will pursue this approach relentlessly,” Commissioner of Police Ravinder Singal said, underlining that the focus has now shifted to those who enable the trade, not just those running it.
To plug future loopholes, the police have also gone public. Video messages warning landlords, brokers and hotel owners against renting out premises to trafficking networks have been circulated widely on social media, making it clear that ignorance will no longer be an excuse.
Behind the sealed doors lies another story, one of rescue. In the last 90 days alone, coordinated raids by the crime branch and local police teams have freed over 75 women and around five minors from prostitution rackets. All those rescued were given immediate medical check-ups, counselling and placed in government-run shelter homes as per court directions.
Officials say Operation Shakti is designed to dismantle the ecosystem that sustains prostitution, by breaking rackets, protecting vulnerable individuals and holding property owners and middlemen criminally liable. The drive has already led to the arrest of several landlords and hotel operators whose premises were found to be repeatedly misused.
“We are preparing awareness posters and intensifying public outreach to educate landlords, hotel owners and the general public against allowing their properties to be used for trafficking or prostitution,” a senior official said.
As sealed buildings quietly dot the cityscape, Nagpur police appear determined to send one clear message: in the fight against trafficking, not just the trade, but the spaces that shelter it, are now under siege.
