Police have been putting the squeeze on establishments that often camouflage flourishing sex syndicates.
Police arrested six women on Saturday night, including two foreigners, and a man for allegedly operating a prostitution ring from a spa in the city.
The station house officer of the sector 53 police station received information about alleged sex trade at Aqua Thai situated at Central Plaza Mall on upmarket Golf Course Road.
‘We wanted to nab the accused redhanded. So, we sent a constable posing as a customer. He fixed a deal with the manager of the spa and also recorded the conversation. Then he signalled the team to raid,’ said Ravinder Kumar, public relations officer of Gurugram police.
Following a raid on Saturday, police found six massage girls. The man arrested was allegedly the manager of the illegal business based at Aqua Thai, situated at Central Plaza Mall on upmarket Golf Course Road.
Cops found six scantily clad massage girls. The man arrested was allegedly the manager of the illegal business.
‘During our investigation we found that two of the girls are foreign nationals belonging to South Korea and Thailand and they hold working visas,’ Kumar said.
He pointed out that hotels having three-star status or above are entitled to provide spa facilities for guests, but running such centres out of one or two rooms is completely illegal.
‘During our investigation we found that two of the girls are foreign nationals belonging to South Korea and Thailand and they hold working visas – Ravinder Kumar, Gurugram Police Press Officer
‘The state government is not issuing any such licence to run spa centre in Haryana. They are open here just like high-end salons.
‘Moreover, they are involved in immoral activities and sex trade activities following negotiations with potential customers,’ he said.
The Gurugram police force has cracked down on about 30 spas this year with the arrest of over 150 massage girls.
Sources have said that a majority of them belong to the north-eastern states apart from southern India, J&K and some foreigners.
While police state that such spa and massage centres operate legally in the city, several centres like Aqua Thai have put up large display boards on the front side of malls to attract people.
MAIL TODAY has reported a series of instances about such illegal establishments mushrooming in the city.
The spa and massage centres are operational in almost every mall situated on MG Road, Sohna Road and Golf Course Road. Apart from this, many spas also operate from posh residential localities such as South City, DLF 1, 2, 5, sector 56, sector 14 market, Palam Vihar and the old city.
Activists say a lot of the girls are lured, duped or forced into sexual slavery by pimps and traffickers, largely due to poverty and lack of opportunities.
There is also a rising demand among Indian men and foreign tourists for ‘exotic’ women from countries such as Thailand and African nations.
The spa centres openly advertise through WhatsApp and Facebook, apart from sending bulk text messages to people with attractive rate cards and packages
These spa and massage centres are similar to the services offered in Bangkok to tourists.
The only difference is Thailand is a country where such facilities come under tourism and generate funds for the exchequer, while they are deemed illegal activities in India.
When an undercover MAIL TODAY reporter visited a spa at JMD Regent Square mall on MG Road, the female manager offered ‘massage and sexual advance package’ at a cost of `1,800 for an hour.
She quoted details of Japanese, Thai, Indonesian, Russian and Chinese massage packages priced at `1,000 to `3,000.
The manager added that Indian massage was also available for `799 to `1,000 apart from ‘luxury to set’ sex deals.
Gurugram police are clamping down on illegal ‘sex spas’ that are run from upmarket or shopping districts of the city
‘We each earn `10,000 per day through massage and providing sexual favours to customers. Most of the clients come here from Delhi, and Gurugram and they do not hesitate to pay money for sex. Many customers just want sex and they do not waste time in massage,’ said one of the girls, who did not give her name.
Another representative said that some customers are not ready to pay high amounts. ‘So we term them ‘economy customers’, who have tendencies to bargain on the price,’ she said.
The spa centres openly advertise through WhatsApp and Facebook, apart from sending bulk text messages to people with attractive rate cards and packages.
They also offer ‘2 days, 3 nights’ special packages at a cost of `20,000 to `3,00,000 for high-end customers.