Puri: Police on Saturday detained 16 persons including seven girls after conducting raids on several hotels and lodges in Konark.
The raids were conducted by a special police team led by Nimapara SDPO Niranjan Padhi following allegations of prostitution racket operational in several hotels in the area.
Police sources said that several lodges are operating without necessary approvals and are also encouraging several illegal activities on their premises.
"There were specific inputs and we had conducted raids on six lodges and rescued seven girls. All of them would be sent for medical examination and later produced before court," said Padhi.
Padhi further informed that a meeting with hotel and lodge owners' has been convened on April 10 to put a check on such incidents.