8 held for flesh trade at spa, 3 Thai nationals

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 20

The Division 5 police have unearthed a flesh trade racket being run in the garb of running a spa centre, Spaday Massage Parlour, situated on Malhar Road, with the arrest of eight persons, including four women.

The suspects include manager Daman Shankar Bhatia of Sita Nagar in Haibowal, Kamal of Guru Arjan Dev Nagar, Ravneet Singh of Dugri Phase 1, Vaneet Gupta of Badewal, and four Thai girls namely Chofat Chedi, Sawitari, Baniyart and Panutsaya. The spa owner, Balwinder Singh Gill and Dev have been booked but they are yet to be arrested. A case under section 3, 4 and 5 of the Immoral Trafficking Act has been registered against the suspects.

The investigating officer, Inspector Pawan Kumar, said the police received secret information that Balwinder was running a spa centre on Malhar Road where he had employed several foreign girls and was running a flesh trade racket in the garb of spa centre.

Following the tip-off, a raid was conducted at the centre on Monday and the suspects arrested red-handed.