India's first sex store named Kama Gizmos that opened in Goa last month has been shut by the local Panchayat for allegedly not having a trading license, according to a report by Indian Express. A Google search for the store displays "permanently closed", and there is no trace of the store on social media platforms.
The shop was located in Calungate, an area frequently visited by tourists. It was a joint venture started by KamaKart, a popular chain of sexual wellness stores in South India and Mumbai-based Gizmoswala. The signage of the store has been taken down.
Talking to Indian Express, the Calangute Sarpanch Dinesh Simepuruskar said: “We had received oral complaints from many people about the shop and they did not have a trade license. So we have shut it down."
He also added that they did not "allow such activities" and that they would not have allowed the opening of such a shop, however, they only found out about the presence of the store through Whatsapp and people posting about it on social media.
CEO of KamaKart and a partner at Kama Gizmos, Prawin Ganeshan said that they were an "easy target" on account of not being locals.
“Our trade license application is under process but we were advised by the people working with the Panchayat that we can open the store and the license would be issued in a few days. On Saturday (March 13), the Panchayat told us not to open the shop for some days so we kept it closed. We were under a lot of pressure from the local authority,” he said.
He further added that they were not doing anything illegal and that stores of Kama Kart in South India have not faced this much backlash. Where he thinks the backlash was stemming from was that they were distributing fliers for marketing research at the beach, and some people may have felt offended. He specified that the sexual wellness store was set up for "pleasure and protection, with doctor consultation."
He said that customers can continue to purchase products online and they will be delivered.