Delhi women’s panel seeks cop report on spa manager, customer accused of gang-rape

The spa's manager introduced the woman to a customer and gave her a spiked drink, after which the two gang raped her.

A 22-year-old woman was allegedly gang raped by the manager and customer of a spa located in Delhi’s Pitampura. The woman approached the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Saturday and the commission's chairperson Swati Maliwal issued a notice to the Delhi Police and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) over the incident.

The woman told the DCW that the incident happened at ‘The Ocean Spa’ in Pitampura where she worked as a masseuse. According to her, the spa’s manager introduced her to a client and gave her a drink laced with intoxicants, after which the two men gang raped her.

The spa's owner tried to bribe her to keep silent when she tried to inform him about the incident.

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The commission took immediate cognizance of the matter and issued notices to the MCD as well as the Delhi Police and sought an action-taken report from them. In the notice sent to Delhi Police, Swati Maliwal sought a copy of the FIR along with details of the accused arrested in the matter.

Further, the commission enquired from the authorities whether the spa had a valid licence. It also asked the officials about the persons responsible for the lapse in case the spa was running without a valid licence. The women’s panel asked them to provide the details by August 8.

DCW chief Swati Maliwal said, “Sex rackets are being run in the guise of spas across Delhi. Most of these cases go unreported as the accused people resort to threats and blackmail to silence the girls. This woman was employed by the spa after they assured her that she would be asked to massage only women.”