Panjim: Goa Police busted a major prostitution racket, rescuing six girls from a dance bar in the heart of Panaji city late last night and arrested six people from Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Nepal, while the kingpin of the racket is still on the run.

Of the three arrested who hail from UP, one Mahendra Singh turned out to be a sitting Samajwadi Party legislator from Uttar Pradesh. Deputy Superintendent of Police Mahesh Gaonkar confirmed that  Mahendra Singh is a legislator from Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh.

The raid was conducted on the hotel in Campal – known to be owned by a senior Congress leader – where police found an illegal dance bar.

The raid comes more than a week after Chief Minister Manohar Parrikars assurance in his Independence Day address that his government is against dance bars. He had also said that no permission would be given to any kind of dance bars in Goa.