Crime & Safety

Prostitution Arrest Lingers for Iron Horse Inn Managers

The managers of the inn want people to know they care about what happens at the establishment.

There was collective grimace in Simsbury when residents found out that there had been an arrest for prostitution in town. But the most upset are Anjali and Milind Shah, the resident managers of the , where the arrest took place.

They — and their two-year-old daughter — call the Iron Horse home as they live on the premises. The couple has been managing the inn for almost five years.

“It’s nice for us,” said Anjali Shah, as her husband works in town as well.

Find out what's happening in Simsburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The pet-friendly 27-room inn caters to people who are usually in town visiting relatives or in town for an event, such as the Iron Horse Marathon. 

“It’s a mom and pop hotel,” said Anjali.

Find out what's happening in Simsburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A drug arrest before the Shahs were the managers has hung over the establishment, located at 969 Hopmedow Street, and now this arrest has once again sullied the inn’s name.

The Shahs say they have received several cancellations since the arrest. They know it is hard to recover from a negative impression, but they also said they wanted to do the right thing.

It was the Shahs who contacted the police about the suspicious activity at the inn.

Some owners may have asked the guest to leave or waited for him or her to check out, but the Shahs called the police. They knew it would give them unwanted publicity, but the Shahs do not tolerate such activity at their establishment.

The police in turn, praised the Shahs for doing the right thing.

“We would not have even known about this,” said Lt. Nicholas Boulter of the Simsbury Police Department.

Boulter said by calling the police the managers sent a message that they do not want this type of activity nor will they stand for it at their establishment. It’s also a good example of the partnership that is needed between law enforcement and residents to keep the town safe, he said.

Anjali said they have called police when a guest gets too rowdy and have asked people to leave for the same reason.

“We don’t hesitate to call the police,” said Anjali, who goes by Angie. “The police have been great.”

“People know we’re there for them,” said Boulter.

The Shahs have turned down business, claiming the inn was full, when they suspect a guest might not be family-friendly. Once, two potential guests were talking about how crazy they were going to get that night as they were inquiring about a room. They did not get one.

But there has been nothing like this at the inn.

“It was scary,” said Anjali of the day the couple realized something was wrong and called police. “I don’t want my family near that.”

On Nov. 13, Qiao Hong Han, 45, of Flushing, NY, was charged with prostitution and Bao Liang Zhang, 49, also of Flushing, NY, was charged with prostitution and promoting prostitution.

Anjali checked in the woman on Friday, Nov. 11. The next day was quiet. But on Sunday, while raking leaves, Milind noticed more cars than usual coming to and from the inn that he did not recognize. The Shahs register the cars in their parking lot and have a security system.

Milind suspected something was amiss, started taking down license plate numbers and called police. The pair were arrested that same day.

“I’m very cautious of who’s in the lot,” he said.

Milind said he hoped people would not judge the whole business based on the actions of this person. The Shahs know people can write off a place when something like this happens, but they are hoping that things will blow over.

The couple say their business is lean as it is — it is the Shahs and a housekeeper on staff. The owners, who are family friends of the Shahs, live in Waterbury. The owners and the Shahs want the inn to be a comfortable and safe place for people to stay. The rooms run from $75 to $85 a night.

“We’re trying so hard to keep a positive image here,” said Anjali. “That type of thing doesn’t fly here.”

Anjali said the inn has a fair amount of regular customers, but there have been cancellations since the arrest. This is the second serious incident at the inn since they have been managers. One other was when some hockey players, in town for an event, trashed a room. The Shahs were reimbursed.

“This is part of doing business,” said Milind of his industry.

The two say they will continue to be vigilant about what goes on at their establishment. Even if it costs them business.

“If we have to turn away business we will,” said Anjali.

“And we have,” said Milind.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.