Kerala police inspected 586 of the state’s 821 spas in a single-day operation, registering 14 cases, arresting five people and issuing notices to 44 establishments for alleged rule violations.
The special inspection drive, named Operation Spa, was conducted on Saturday on the instructions of ADGP (Law and Order) P Vijayan, according to a police statement issued on Sunday. The operation covered spas across several districts and focused on compliance with applicable rules.
Kozhikode city recorded the highest number of raids and arrests. Police inspected 70 of the 87 spas operating there, registered four cases and arrested four people, the statement said. The figures make Kozhikode the largest enforcement cluster identified in the statewide operation.
In Malappuram district, teams inspected 71 of 78 spas. Thrissur district saw inspections at 56 of 58 establishments, while 56 of the 58 spas in Thrissur city were inspected separately in the police breakdown. In Palakkad district, 55 of 71 spas were checked.
The police also reported that three cases each were registered in Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha. Two cases were registered in Ernakulam Rural, while Kottayam and Idukki recorded one case each. The police statement did not provide a district-wise breakdown of all five arrests beyond identifying Kozhikode city as the location of four of them.
The inspection figures show that the operation covered more than 70 per cent of the 821 spas identified across Kerala. The police said the inspections were conducted as part of a special drive rather than a routine local enforcement exercise, bringing establishments in multiple districts under a coordinated review.
Alongside the cases and arrests, notices were issued to 44 spas that police found were not following the rules. A notice allows the concerned establishment to be formally informed of the identified violation and the action required, although the police statement did not specify the individual violations or the deadlines attached to the notices.
The operation places the compliance of spas within the wider framework of enforcement involving establishments that provide regulated services in Kerala’s towns and cities. The police statement did not identify the specific rules involved in the cases, and it did not state whether further arrests or inspections were planned beyond the operation reported on Saturday.
ADGP P Vijayan has warned that strict action will be taken against establishments that violate the law, the police said. Further action will therefore depend on the cases registered, the compliance response to the notices and any subsequent directions issued by the police or other competent authorities.
