Ahmedabad Police raid Bopal spa, manager held, 7 women rescued from illegal activities

The Ahmedabad Police on Thursday busted an alleged prostitution racket being run under the guise of a massage parlour at Manana Spa in One World West near Vakil Bridge on Bopal Ring Road. The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of the city crime branch conducted the raid and detained the spa manager, while rescuing seven women who were allegedly being used for sex work.

As per the FIR lodged at Sarkhej Police Station, the raid was carried out around 3.45 pm based on specific intelligence that the spa owners were offering sexual services to customers under the pretext of providing body massages. The accused, identified as Mayur Purbiya (24), a resident of Vejalpur, was arrested at the spot. The alleged owner of the spa, identified only as Sonia Kaur, is currently absconding.

The accused were “bringing women from outstate and paying them ₹500 per customer for engaging in sexual activity inside the spa". The police also found that the establishment did not possess valid documents to operate a spa and had failed to carry out the mandatory police verification of its employees.

Acting on a tip-off, AHTU officials arranged for a decoy customer, visited the spa and demanded a woman for services. After confirming that such activities were taking place, the AHTU team, accompanied by NGO representatives, raided the premises. During the raid, police found the spa had nine partitioned rooms, including seven massage rooms, a staff room, a kitchen and two washrooms.

Seven women were rescued from the premises, including from Haryana, Surendranagar, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Patan, and two locals. During questioning, the women told police that the spa owner and manager made them work daily from 11 am to 10 pm, paying them ₹500 per client. The police seized ₹2,000 in cash from the spa manager and a DVR worth ₹1,500 for forensic examination of the CCTV footage.

A case has been registered under Sections of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and Section of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Police said further investigation is underway to trace the absconding woman, Sonia Kaur, and to determine whether similar illegal activities were being carried out at other spas connected to the accused.