The Special Investigation Team probing the alleged sexual exploitation and trafficking of a 16-year-old girl at spas in Kovalam has arrested another accused, taking the total number of arrests in the case to eight.
The latest accused, identified as 23-year-old Kiran J Jiji, a resident of Kidarakuzhi near CSI Church at Mulloor in Vizhinjam, was taken into custody on Tuesday. He was later produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody, according to investigators.
The SIT alleges that Kiran assisted Sajith, the prime accused and operator of two spas in Kovalam, in bringing women to the establishments. Investigators suspect that he helped facilitate the movement of women as part of the alleged human trafficking network connected to the spas.
The police said Kiran’s alleged association with Sajith and his suspected role in bringing women to the establishments emerged during the investigation. The arrest comes as the SIT examines a wider interstate network allegedly involving spa operators, intermediaries and other people who may have facilitated the movement of victims.
The case came to light after the girl’s maternal aunt filed a missing-person complaint on September 21. The girl, who is from Andhra Pradesh, was later traced and disclosed during counselling that she had been brought to spas in the Kovalam area and sexually exploited, according to the police account cited in the investigation.
Investigators also found that documents had allegedly been used to misrepresent the girl’s age as 20. The case therefore involves not only the alleged exploitation of a minor but also questions about how individuals were brought to commercial establishments, how their identities and ages were recorded, and whether regulatory checks were bypassed.
The initial arrests included spa operators Sajith Kumar, 47, and Nishanth, 46, followed by the girl’s maternal aunt and her husband. Corporation health inspector M O Anuroop and temporary health inspector V C Maya were subsequently arrested over their alleged links with the spa operations. Bengaluru-based intermediary Vani was the seventh person arrested before the latest action against Kiran.
The involvement of municipal health personnel among those arrested has widened the institutional dimension of the case. The investigation is examining alleged connections between commercial spa operations and local regulatory processes, while the police are also looking into financial transactions and the possible involvement of additional people.
The SIT has not concluded the investigation. Police are continuing to examine the alleged interstate trafficking network, the role of intermediaries and the financial links connected to the spas. Further action will depend on the evidence gathered during the ongoing probe.
