Kovalam police have arrested two spa owners in connection with the alleged sexual exploitation of a 16-year-old girl, while investigating the role of her aunt and her husband, who are accused of taking her to spas in the tourist destination and are currently absconding. Police are also examining alleged business links between a Thiruvananthapuram health inspector and one of the spas.
The arrested men have been identified by police as Sajith Kumar, 47, who runs spas at Thozhichal and Chappath in Kovalam, and Nishanth, 46, who owns a spa at Avaduthura. Kovalam circle inspector V M Sreekumar said the official’s alleged links with the spa were being examined and that further investigation was under way. Police said more arrests were possible.
The case emerged during an investigation into a missing-person complaint filed by the girl’s aunt. The girl, a native of Andhra Pradesh who had lost her parents at a young age, had been living under the care of her aunt. Police said she was initially taken to a spa operated by Sajith Kumar, where she was allegedly sexually exploited for several months. The aunt and her husband were also staying at the premises, according to the report.
After a dispute, the family moved to the spa owned by Nishanth, police said. On September 19, the girl left with a young man from Neyyar Dam whom she had met at the first spa. Her aunt filed a complaint, following which police traced the girl and produced her before a court. She was subsequently handed over to relatives.
During the investigation, police found two Aadhaar cards belonging to the girl on the phone allegedly possessed by her aunt. One card recorded her age as 20, while the other recorded it as 16. Suspecting that she was a minor, police moved her to a shelter home. During counselling there, conducted with the assistance of a translator, the girl disclosed the alleged exploitation.
Police then contacted schools in Bengaluru and Andhra Pradesh where the girl had studied and established that she was a minor, according to the report. The girl also told investigators that she had earlier been taken to spas in Bengaluru and Chennai and sexually exploited. Those allegations are part of the continuing investigation.
Police said the aunt and her husband fled after learning that investigators were closing in on them. The girl was reported missing on September 19, but the complaint was lodged only on September 21, police said. Their current whereabouts were not available in the report, although police have extended the investigation to Andhra Pradesh to trace them.
The investigation has also brought the licensing and oversight of spas in Kovalam under scrutiny. Police said they were examining the alleged involvement of the health inspector and whether others were connected to the establishment. The inquiry will determine the nature of any business relationship and whether official oversight was compromised; no finding against the inspector has been established in the report.
Following the case, police intensified inspections at tourist destinations. “The raids would continue in the coming days and strict action would be taken against unauthorised establishments,” Sreekumar said. Police said inspections and the wider investigation would continue, including efforts to trace the absconding accused and examine the possible involvement of others.
