New Delhi: She had been brought to the capital with what she likely believed were promises of a better life. Instead, a 17-year-old girl from West Bengal found herself trapped inside a cramped brothel on SN Marg, near Ajmeri Gate, in central Delhi — exploited, concealed and far from home.Her ordeal ended on the night of April 8, when a police team raided the first floor and found her confined in a hidden room concealed inside a cramped space that looked like an almirah — a facade that hid a cluster of tiny chambers.According to police, the girl was lured from West Bengal by a woman, Alia, who later handed her over to a couple — Kumari and her husband Rahul — accused of running the illegal establishment. The teenager was allegedly forced into sex work. The couple is currently absconding.Two men, Gopi Ram Parihar, 36, and Luma Kant Pandey, 41, both residents of Dang district in Nepal, were allegedly working as managers at the premises. Police said they handled cash transactions and arranged client access. Both have been arrested.Rescue workers told TOI that a bell installed near a tree outside the building was allegedly used as an alert system to warn those inside. “We had been stationed there for hours, keeping watch. The moment we tried to enter, someone rang a bell. There was a commotion, customers began rushing down, but we stopped them right there. That’s when we decided to go up and check every nook and corner,” said Firdaus, one of the rescue workers with the NGO Sahyog Care For You.Customers and staff were intercepted on the staircase as they tried to escape, following which the team searched the premises thoroughly.Investigators also found detailed records inside, including registers documenting the number of clients each woman was assigned. “These were linked to a token system, where colored tokens with monetary values were issued, and later exchanged with the managers,” she added.DCP (Central) Rohit Rajbir Singh said, “The evidence from the premises included cash worth around Rs 2 lakh, 118 US dollars, foreign currency notes, 33 grams of cannabis, used condoms, gauze cloth with suspected semen stains, transaction slips, medicines, eight diaries, colored tokens, two knives and 264 bottles and 478 cans of beer.”Multiple FIRs have been registered under the BNS, Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act, Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act, NDPS Act and Excise Act.Police said the 17-year-old was among eight women rescued from the premises. The others, aged between 18 and 36, are from West Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal.