Calangute p’yat, cops act against illegal spas

Calangute: Sarpanch Joseph Sequeira on Friday said that two illegal ‘spas’ in Calangute-Baga were shut down, and five others were issued show-cause notices by the Calangute panchayat recently.Talking to media after the fire at Gold Touch spa in Calangute on Thursday, the sarpanch said it was also operating illegally. “We were about to serve a notice to them to shut down. In the last few days, we raided some places with police protection because of local complaints. In two places, we found some girls in a room. We were not aware why they were there. We closed down two places that had no permissions and took affidavits from the others, promising they would not engage in illegal activities.

There are some legitimate spas, too,” said Sequeira.The decision to shut illegal spas had been taken at the panchayat meeting. “We cannot simply shut them down. We have to issue notices and follow due process. We have sealed 8-10 spas recently,” the sarpanch said. He also said the panchayat resolved not to renew spa licences this year from April, except for those in hotels.“The panchayat does not have any powers to take action against illegal activities at night. The police have to take action because tourists are complaining about being looted,” he said.