Overview
- The Special Investigation Team has arrested seven people after probing the sexual exploitation and movement of a minor through spas in Kovalam and other cities.
- Police found two conflicting Aadhaar records and carried out age verification that established the survivor is 16, after which she was placed in a shelter home for protection.
- Investigators say the minor was moved between spas by an alleged trafficker arrested in Bengaluru and that the survivor reported similar abuse at a spa near Chennai, prompting a zero FIR to be forwarded to Chennai police.
- Financial-forensic work tracing transfers from the spas led to arrests of two municipal health inspectors and to the survivor’s maternal aunt and uncle who are accused of handing her over to traffickers.
- The probe spans Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and police inspections of spa centres have increased as authorities use documents, WhatsApp records and bank trails to pursue further charges.