Gurgaon: Days after raids were conducted at 18 spa centres in Sector 90, police have suspended the station house officer (SHO) of Kherki Daula police station. Inspector Ravinder has been sent to the police lines, officials said on Wednesday, adding, inspector Vinod Kumar has been appointed as the new SHO.The action didn’t elaborate on the specific reasons behind the suspension, an official told TOI. Sources said, “The police department examined the role of the local police following the raid and the suspension of the SHO was linked to the ‘negligence’ in preventing or detecting the activities.”A joint team on Friday raided the spa centres at Sapphire Mall following a complaint received from Haryana State Commission for Women (HSCW) chairperson Usha Priyadarshini. The commission had received information about alleged immoral activities and prostitution being carried out at the establishments. The raid had raised questions as to how such activities could continue across multiple spa centres at a large commercial complex.Around 50 people from the centres were detained for questioning. Police collected documents and electronic evidence from the establishments. Investigators are probing how the establishments were being operated and whether there was a larger network involving spa owners, operators, managers or other facilitators.The raid, conducted from 10pm to 3am on Friday, involved nearly 100 police personnel, including 20 inspectors and sub-inspectors. It was conducted under the supervision of police officials along with the HSCW chairperson and a duty magistrate. ACP headquarters-I Abhilaksh Joshi, who is also the nodal officer for the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (ITPA), was involved in the operation. Investigators are examining the evidence collected during the raid and the statements of those questioned.Following the raid at the mall, police, along with HSCW, conducted a raid at a PG in Sector 38. A Jharsa resident and his wife had been apprehended in connection with the alleged trafficking network, which used websites, WhatsApp, paying guest (PG) accommodations, guesthouses and vehicles to facilitate the racket. The women found at the centres were questioned to ascertain their circumstances and establish whether any of them had been brought there through intermediaries or had been forced or induced into the alleged activities.
