Panaji, July 7 (IANS) A sub-divisional magistrate has hauled up a police inspector and asked him to release 29 women who were "rescued" last week from an alleged prostitution ring operating in the guise of a beauty saloon.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate D.M. Redkar in his order said that the "rescue" was staged by inspector Nolasco Rasposo, in-charge of Calangute police station in the popular tourist hub of Calangute, 15 km from here.

"The girls said they were called to the police station for questioning but were instead made a party to this case. The police showed they rescued these girls and remanded them. Moreover, at the time of the raid, neither a reputed citizen nor a member from any NGO accompanied the raiding team," Redkar said, calling the detention of the women at a state-run protective home "illegal".

Redkar ordered the release of the 29 women after the police failed to prove that they were involved in the prostitution business.

Incidentally, while the police claimed that the 29 women were rescued during a raid at a beauty parlour, five of the "rescued" women have in a written statement to the Women and Child Development (WCD) department, said they were callously picked up from their respective houses and taken straight to the police station.

Meanwhile, the owner of the beauty parlour, Mahalaxmi Mishra, has already complained to the state women's commission about alleged harrassment by Raposo, who has denied allegations that the raid was staged.