The Sessions court has dropped the charges of running a prostitution racket against a 38-year-old man after observing that the police were unable to produce any independent witness. The court held that the police had used a panch witness who had appeared on their behalf in several similar cases and it had no reason to believe his testimony as well as the cops' theory. According to the prosecution, a raid was conducted in May 2007 at the house of Nagpada resident Manjunath Gouda where the police allegedly found that he had forced nearly 15 women into flesh trade. Gouda was earlier convicted by a lower court and sentenced to a year in jail along with a fine of Rs 2000. This prompted Gouda to move the Sessions court, which found the evidence highly unreliable and acquitted Gouda. Apart from pointing to the serial witness, the court held that it was very essential for the police to follow the guidelines laid under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking activities (PITA) Act, It said the cops had blatantly violated the law. "As per Section 13 of the PITA, a special officer has to be appointed by the State Government for dealing with offences under the such Act and such Special Police Officer shall not be below the rank of an Inspector of Police who is empowered to search the premises where he has reasonable ground for believing that an offence punishable under the PITA has been committed," held the court. PANCH-ED HOLES

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