Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B Dayananda.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Bengaluru: Authorities will take efforts to identify and close down spas engaged in illegal activities within the city, Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda said on Monday.
“There are spas in the city doing business legally,” the commissioner said in a conversation with DH. “However, there are also some places where illegal and unauthorised activities take place. Such spas will be identified and closed down.”
The commissioner was responding to a query over a recent raid by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Bengaluru police that revealed a prostitution ring in a posh spa in Mahadevapura.
The CCB's Women Protection Wing (WPW) conducted the operation on January 6 at Nirvana International Spa in Mahadevapura's Pai Layout, rescuing 40 women from Thailand, Delhi, and other regions.
The spa owner, Anil, was detained during the raid.
The spa owner had allegedly coerced the trafficked women, who were from various states and neighbouring countries, into prostitution, CCB sources said. He had also employed 20 to 25 people to manage his business, which included collecting payments from customers either in cash or via online transfers.
A case has been registered at the Mahadevapura police station under relevant sections of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, the Information Technology Act, and the Indian Penal Code. Investigations are underway.