Police in Ghaziabad have arrested 11 people and reported rescuing 20 women after raiding three spa centres operating from the same building in Vaishali, where investigators alleged that prostitution was being conducted under the cover of spa services. The action has also prompted an inquiry into local police personnel and the owners of the commercial premises.
The raid was conducted on Monday night by a team led by Rishul, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Trans Hindon, in the Kaushambi police station area. The three centres—Pure Therapy Spa Centre, All Spa Centre and Mountain Spa Centre—were operating from Lajwanti Plaza in Vaishali, according to the report by Live Hindustan.
Police said people at the centres attempted to flee when the team arrived, but were stopped and detained. During searches, officers reported recovering a large quantity of objectionable material. The police action covered all three centres, while arrests were made from two of them, including the operators of the businesses.
The preliminary investigation, as described by police, indicated that women were allegedly brought to the centres with promises of employment. Officers said they were then induced, pressured or blackmailed into performing what the report described as wrongful activities. Police also alleged that the accused shared photographs and videos of women with prospective customers through WhatsApp and sent the centre’s location after an arrangement had been finalised.
According to the preliminary police findings, women received only 25 to 30 per cent of the money collected from customers. These claims remain part of the investigation and will have to be established through the police case and subsequent legal proceedings.
The arrested individuals were identified as Gaurav Jain of Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar, Neelesh of Khoda Colony, Narayan Singh of Saraswati Vihar, Tejendra Giri of Motihari in Bihar, Anshu of Bhovapur, Sachin Jain of Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar, Ankit of Makanpur, Faheem of Vaishali, Sahil of Kala Patthar Road, Mukesh Garg of Rajendra Nagar and Sumeer Nayyar of Krishna Apra Society in Indirapuram.
Police identified Anshu as the operator of Pure Spa Centre and Sahil as the operator of Mountain Spa Centre. The owner of All Spa Centre, identified as Meena alias Veena, was reported to be absconding. Police said efforts were under way to locate her.
The raid has also raised questions about how multiple establishments allegedly operating from one building continued functioning and whether local-level enforcement mechanisms detected or acted on them earlier. The Deputy Commissioner said an inquiry was being conducted against the concerned outpost in-charge, beat police officer and other personnel. The investigation follows the suspension of two outpost in-charges and two other police personnel after two hookah bars were found operating in the area the previous week.
Police said further action would be taken on the basis of the inquiry. Officers will also examine who rented the shops to the spa centres and question the property owners as part of the investigation.
