Kerala police to conduct intelligence operations against spas: Ravada Chandrasekhar
Keralam State Police Chief Ravada A. Chandrasekhar says the police hope to uncover all aspects of the Kovalam spa case and that provisions of the anti-trafficking law have been invoked.
Keralam State Police Chief Ravada A. Chandrasekhar said on Wednesday (October 21, 2026) that all district police chiefs have been ordered to conduct intelligence operations against spas suspected of illegal activities.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a blood donation camp organized in Thiruvananthapuram on the occasion of Police Memorial Day, Mr. Chandrasekhar said an investigation was underway into the alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl from Andhra Pradesh at a spa in Kovalam.
He said that the police are taking the matter very seriously and have ordered strict action against spas involved in illegal activities to prevent similar incidents. The police chief said intelligence operations would be conducted at the district level to identify spas involved in illegal activities. “It will not be a one-time operation,” he added.
Arrested
In the Kovalam spa case, Mr. Chandrasekhar said the police hoped to uncover all aspects of the case and that the provisions of the anti-trafficking act had been applied. A health inspector of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the case, which is being investigated by a nine-member Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The girl’s maternal aunt and her husband were subsequently taken into custody by the Andhra Pradesh police. The girl lost her parents when she was two years old and since then she was in the care of her maternal aunt.
Mr. Chandrasekhar also spoke about ‘Samraksha’, a state-level voluntary blood donation initiative launched on Police Memorial Day to honor policemen who died in the line of duty. He said the initiative, jointly organized by the police and the Kerala State Blood Transfusion Board (KSBTC), would be implemented across all police sub-divisions, battalions and other police units in the state. “I think we will be able to donate more than 1,000 units of blood for the good of society,” he said.
Mr. Chandrasekhar said a parade was held to honor police officers who had died in the line of duty across the country.
Police Memorial Day is celebrated in India on October 21 to honor police officers who have died in the line of duty. The day commemorates the 1959 ambush by Chinese troops in the Hot Springs area of Ladakh in which 10 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed.
Published – 21 Oct 2026 23:34 IST