Foreign girls illegally working in Guwahati spas

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, January 24: A crackdown in spas by the Guwahati police commissionerate has exposed the darker side of the fast growing metropolitan city. A joint team of city police crime branch and Dispur police conducted a series of verification drives in spas, mostly located on GS Road, since Thursday evening.

"Several spas are reportedly engaging foreign girls. We had launched a verification drive since Thursday. Five girls were found to have been working in a spa violating their VISA norms," said an official in Bhangagarh police station. The five girls are from Thailand. "They came with tourist VISAs. As such, they cannot work here. They will be deported back to their country," said the official.

The officer in charge of Bhangagarh police station said the owner of a Thai spa and saloon Biswajit Debth and an employee Rakesh Barman were arrested on charges of ‘immoral trafficking’. They have been taken into three days’ custody by the police.  Drives are also being conducted in other spas as well.

A senior police official said foreign tiols coming on tourist VISAs (up to six months) need not report to the police, so it is difficult to keep tabs on them. Police sources said there is information of foreign tiols either overstaying in the state or staying on in violation of VISA norms. They have not ruled out more such foreign girls being engaged in business establishments.