India: Spa centers in Uttar Pradesh raided for prostitution and sex rackets
Six men were arrested while 19 young women were rescued.
A number of spa centres in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh were raided by the police after a Regional Ayurvedic and Unani Officer found out that they were centers of prostitution and sex rackets.
The illegal activity came to light on November 20, 2019, when the official had gone to one of these centres for an inspection. Upon entering, the team discovered the illegal operation and alerted the police.
On November 21, 2019, four such centres in Uttar Pradesh were raided and six men arrested, while 19 young women were rescued.
As per the report, the owners of the centres are on the run and police are working to locate their whereabouts.
Other illegal spas exist
While some spa centres were raided, it was expected that the police would take action on the others. But, several were not raided despite the Ayurveda officials reporting them for illegal activities too.
There are 100 spa centres based in Sadar under the name of Body Massage Centre. They had been shut down for fear of being raided but police officers did not turn up, the report mentioned.