The Mumbai crime branch have arrested six people, who include three policemen attached with the Sakinaka station, for allegedly picking up a small-time model from a five-star hotel in Andheri and booking her for prostitution.

In her complaint to police commissioner Rakesh Maria on Wednesday, the victim said that the policemen, along with three others, took her to the station and extorted Rs 7 lakh. One of the officers even forced her into oral sex in the police chowky, her complaint said.

According to crime branch sources, on April 3, she visited a five-star hotel to meet a friend.

After a while, a few men in civvies approached her and identified themselves as policemen from the Sakinaka station. They told her they had information that she had come to the hotel for soliciting clients for prostitution.Then, they asked her to accompany them to the station. After reaching the station, the three policemen demanded money from her and threatened that she will be booked under charges of prostitution, if she failed to pay up, the victim alleged.

She then called up her boyfriend for help. Though her boyfriend offered some money to the policemen, they demanded more. The victim then called her mother and got around Rs 7 lakh transferred to the account of an unknown person.

She further alleged that one of the accused-API took her to a police chowky near Sangarsh Nagar in Chandivali and forced her to perform oral sex. “Later, the API brought her to the police station and made her sit there till the morning of April 4 and let her off after booking her for prostitution,” she said.

After leaving the station, she went to a private hospital for medical check-up.

Considering the seriousness of the case, Maria has asked the crime branch to register an offence and start investigation.

“Considering the sensitivity of the case, we registered a zero FIR at MIDC police station and later transferred the case to Sakinaka, so that the victim does not have to go through the ordeal of going to the same station where she was humiliated,” additional commissioner (Crime) K M M Prasanna said.

“There are black sheep in all places and we are committed to giving security to women and weed out such anti-social elements. Hence the case has been handed over to a senior lady officer Gopika Jaghirdar, who was recently awarded by the chief minister for best detection for solving a kidnapping and rape case,” he said.