Illegal spa operating inside water park busted in Ratlam, 4 detained

Indore: Ratlam police on Friday night raided a spa operating illegally inside Tulsi Water Park on Panched-Namli Road and detained four persons after finding three Thai nationals working at the facility.

A team of women police officers posing as customers verified the information about the suspected illegal activities at the spa before action was taken.

During the raid, police recovered objectionable material from the premises and registered a case under Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and provisions of immigration and foreign nationals regulations against the water park owner, spa operator and two managers.

The detained persons were identified as water park operator Yogesh Singh of Ratlam, manager Dilip Thakur of Namli, spa operator Naresh Chouhan of Pali in Rajasthan, and spa manager Bharat Mewara, also a resident of Pali. All four were taken into custody and brought to Namli police station for questioning.

Police said that scrutiny of the documents of three Thai women revealed that visa of one woman had expired. Of the remaining two, one had entered India on a tourist visa while the other was holding a business visa. Investigators are examining whether the nature of their activities was in violation of visa conditions.

Officials also found that the presence of foreign nationals on the premises had not been reported to either the local police station or police headquarters, a mandatory requirement under existing regulations.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Yogesh Singh had rented out space inside the water park to Naresh Chouhan for operating the spa centre. Investigators are collecting details about visitors to the spa and attempting to identify regular customers and any wider network linked to the operation.

Namli police station in-charge Amit Kori said that the action was initiated on the basis of a tip-off and preliminary evidence gathered by the police team. He said documents related to the visas and passports of the Thai nationals were being verified.