Based on the tip-off provided by the man, a team of the Detective Department went to Pune on January 5 and rescued her, along with four others — one of them from North 24 Parganas and the others from Nadia district. All five women are in the age group of 20 to 25 years and were trafficked in the last couple of years. The police also booked the brothel owner, Dolly Tamang. She has been remanded in police custody till January 16.

Detective Department Deputy Commissioner Jawed Shamim said: “In the last week of December, Purnima’s parents came to me and informed me about her whereabouts. We sent our team to Pune, which raided the brothel at Disco Building and rescued the women. We have sent them to a welfare home.”

Purnima’s parents had lodged a complaint with the Usthi police immediately after their daughter went missing. The police, however, failed to trace her.

At Pune, a man visited the brothel recently when Purnima reportedly requested him to help her return home. She told him to contact her parents and inform them about her whereabouts, the police said. Accordingly, the man contacted her parents.