India

Keralan Minister Threatens Police Crackdown on Fraudulent Spas After Gang Rape Incident

By PTI

In Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala announced that the police would take stringent action against illegal spas and those involved in criminal intimidation, extortion and sex rackets operating under their guise. The remarks followed a gang‑rape case in which a woman was allegedly lured to Kalamassery in Kochi on the pretext of a job at a spa. "Stringent action will be taken by the police. Instructions have already been given to the DGP, who is examining the matter," Chennithala told reporters. He said complaints have been received about fraud, sexual assaults and intimidation carried out under the pretext of spas in many parts of Kerala, with the highest number of complaints coming from Ernakulam and also from Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram. The minister added that the police would conduct a strong investigation into these cases, which also involve money extortion and sex rackets. Police said two accused in connection with the gang‑rape case, Saranya alias Ammu and Sanju, were apprehended on Tuesday night in Wayanad. Two other accused, Sreeraj and Jith Martin, had already been arrested and remanded to judicial custody. The crime occurred on October 2 and involved four alleged assailants, according to police. The survivor informed her partner of the incident and later lodged a complaint. The partner, speaking to reporters in Kochi, described how the survivor returned home severely injured with a swollen face after going out for a promised job. He alleged that four people, including a woman, assaulted her and that more people entered the room later. He said the attackers stopped only after she broke a beer bottle and threatened to kill herself if the assault continued. Police are continuing the investigation to establish the full sequence of events.