SMC raids four Ahmedabad spas on SG Highway, 9 arrested; 10 others booked as wanted

The Gujarat Police’s State Monitoring Cell (SMC) raided four spas in Ahmedabad on Friday for allegedly operating prostitution activities under the guise of spa services, arresting nine people and naming 10 others as wanted accused.

The raids were conducted at The Galaxy Spa, Blossom Spa, A9 Spa and Orange Spa in the Bodakdev, Thaltej, Satellite and Vastrapur areas. Police said they seized cash and various articles collectively valued at ₹ 5.29 lakh from the four premises.

According to the SMC, the raids were carried out after information was received about prostitution allegedly being conducted from spas for financial gain. The teams conducted simultaneous or separate operations at the four premises and initiated legal action under provisions of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, along with relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

At The Galaxy Spa, located on Sindhubhavan Road within the Bodakdev police station limits, police seized four mobile phones, a digital video recorder (DVR), eight condoms, cash and other articles worth ₹1.26 lakh. One person, identified as Bhavik Maheshbhai Vithalapara, who was allegedly working as a manager and was found at the spa counter, was arrested. Four others alleged spa managers Keelika Amusi, Mohsin Rangrej and Rambabu, and manager's assistant Manish were named as wanted accused.

At Blossom Spa, located on Hebatpur Road near Bagban Party Plot in Thaltej, police seized four mobile phones, a DVR, cash and other articles worth ₹71,870. Two persons Bharti Bharat Damani, a receptionist/therapist, and Ankit Kumar Rajkumar Batham, a spa assistant were arrested. Spa managers Harshvardhan Jadhav and Kiranbhai were named as wanted accused.

The third raid was conducted at A9 Spa, situated near ISKCON Char Rasta and Wide Angle Multiplex in the Satellite police station area. The SMC seized six mobile phones, a computer CPU, a laptop, two DVRs, two ATM card-swiping machines, eight condoms, a currency-counting machine, a machine used for printing slips, two walkie-talkie sets, a UPI scanner, cash and other articles valued at ₹2.36 lakh.

Three alleged spa managers Pravinbhai Rameshbhai Vora, Naisad Ahmed Siddiqui and Nischal Deepakbhai Thakkar were arrested in the case. The spa owner Narendra Singh Rathod and manager Kaushal Deepakbhai Thakkar were named as wanted accused.

At Orange Spa, near Vastrapur Lake, within the Vastrapur police station limits, police seized two mobile phones, a laptop and cash, with the total value of the seized property estimated at ₹95,500. Three people alleged spa manager Radhuveer Singh Balveer Singh Rajput and customers Devin Vishnubhai Desai and Jayadevbhai Nanubhai Dodiya were arrested.

The alleged owner Virendra Kumar Sindh and manager Manish Ramswaroop Pipliwala were named as wanted accused in the Orange Spa case.

The SMC said investigations in all four cases were continuing to establish the roles of the arrested and wanted accused and to determine the extent of the alleged prostitution network.