Kochi, 18 Oct (H.S.): Kerala Police have registered 14 cases and arrested five people during surprise inspections at spas across the state, amid heightened scrutiny following the alleged gangrape of a woman offered employment at a spa in Kochi.

Notices were issued to 44 establishments for violating rules during ‘Operation Spa’, carried out on the directions of Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) P Vijayan.

Police inspected 586 of the 821 spas identified across Kerala. Kozhikode City accounted for the highest number of cases and arrests, with four cases registered and four people taken into custody. Officers checked 70 of the city’s 87 spas.

Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha reported three cases each, while Ernakulam Rural recorded two. One case each was registered in Kottayam and Idukki.

The inspections also covered 71 of Malappuram’s 78 spas, 56 of the 58 establishments in Thrissur City and 55 of the 71 in Palakkad.

Vijayan said stringent action against establishments violating the law would continue.

The operation comes against the backdrop of the Kochi case, in which a woman was allegedly lured to a lodge in Edappally on October 2 with the promise of employment at a spa. Investigators said she was allegedly drugged and subjected to sexual assault over two days. The case prompted renewed scrutiny of establishments allegedly using spa operations as a cover for criminal activities.

Following the incident, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala publicly assured stringent police action against illegal spas and criminal networks operating under their guise.

He said complaints included sexual assault, intimidation, fraud and extortion, and directed the Director General of Police to act firmly. His assurance placed enforcement against illegal spa operations under renewed public scrutiny as police widened inspections across the state and initiated cases and proceedings against establishments found violating rules during the surprise checks.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman