NEW DELHI: No sex racket was operating in massage parlours of the city, the Delhi Police informed the High Court on Monday. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was recently filed alleging that flesh trade was clandestinely operating in many of these massage parlours in Delhi and the National Capital Region. The matter is scheduled for hearing in the court today. Petitioner Ateet Bansal, in his PIL, also claimed that outsiders worked in such parlours to earn quick money.
Incidentally, the Delhi Commission for Women on November 22 had issued notices to the three civic bodies, the Delhi Police, and the Labour Department on the operation of illegal spas and massage centres, which are allegedly involved in prostitution rackets.
In its notice, the Commission said it had received several complaints against such illegal spas and massage centres. Many complainants had claimed that some of the spas and massage centres in Delhi were fronts for prostitution rackets, it added.
On Monday, additional standing counsel Sanjoy Ghose submitted an affidavit on behalf of the Delhi Police informing the high court about the steps it had taken following complaints of flesh trade against massage parlours. Nine complaints were received but the allegations turned out to unsubstantiated, the court was informed.
Action is taken in accordance with the provisions of the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act and other relevant legal provisions, if such cases turn out to be true, the affidavit said. “The petitioner could not supply any concrete information or evidence to suggest the running of flesh trade in the garb of massage parlours,” it added. With Agency inputs