Bengaluru police head promises to shut down illicit spas.

Bengaluru police head promises to shut down illicit spas.

Bengaluru: Authorities would make attempts to identify and close spas that indulge in criminal activities in the city, Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda said on Monday.

The commissioner was responding to a question on a recent search by Bengaluru police's Central Crime Branch (CCB) that discovered a prostitution network in a fancy spa in Mahadevapura.

The CCB's Women Protection Wing (WPW) carried out the operation on January 6 at Nirvana International Spa in Mahadevapura's Pai Layout, rescuing 40 women from Thailand, Delhi, and other locations.

Anil, the spa proprietor, was apprehended during the raid.

The spa owner allegedly coerced the trafficking women, who came from numerous states and neighboring countries, into prostitution, according to CCB sources. He also employed 20 to 25 individuals to run his firm, which included collecting payments from customers in cash or through online transfers.

A case has been filed at the Mahadevapura police station under pertinent parts of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, the Information Technology Act, and the Indian Penal Code. Investigations are underway.