Police launch verification drive of spa centres, many found locked

Police crackdown on unauthorised spa centres functional in the city continued on Monday after sex racket was busted following raid carried out at four spa centres in Civil lines area here on Friday night.

Following action against these spa centres which were being run on the upper floor of a mall, panic has prevailed among other centres. On Monday, many were found locked when police teams reached there to check and verify their registration documents.

The police officials have now issued instructions to carry out verification of other spa centres which are being run in Civil Lines and other areas of the city.

An investigation has revealed that at least 90 such centres are functional in Prayagraj. Among them, over 35 are in Civil Lines and Cantonment areas alone.

There are many centres in Kotwali, Shahganj, Kareli, Georgetown, Naini and Jhunsi areas. While the big centres are registered, police suspect that others are being run without any registration. Polic officials said that the spa centres should have a license for Ayurvedic therapy, and the staff engaged in giving massage should hold a diploma in physiotherapy.

The officials further said that instructions have been issued to verify the other spa centres in the city and check their documents. It will be checked if they were also involved in running sex rackets. Moreover, the footage of the CCTV cameras which were found at the raided centres will also be scanned, he added.

Meanwhile, in the Friday incident, FIR was registered against four spa centres under the relevant sections and the police had sent 20 persons, including 13 women, to jail. Among the women, there is a national of Uganda who was living in India illegally.

Moreover, police found objectionable materials from the spa centres which were raided. Three people identified as Sameer Khan of Varanasi, Anoop of Gorakhpur and Gaurav Kumar of Varanasi who are owners and managers of the four Spa centres are still at large.

Police officials said that questioning from the women arrested from the four spa centres revealed that the customers were charged between ₹1,000 to ₹10,000.