Kannur: A day after a Bangladeshi woman was arrested from a spa near Kannur Railway Station for allegedly staying in India without valid documents, the Kannur Town police arrested four more Bangladeshi women working at another spa in the city.

The four arrested were identified as Nazma Akter (40) of Sarishabari town in Jamalpur district of Mymensingh division; Taslima Khatun (25) of Koira and Moyna Khatun (29) of Paikgacha town, both in Khulna division; and Nasri Bheebi.

Town Police Sub-inspector Akhil T K said Nasri Bheebi's details were not available, but he could not provide any documents proving her Indian citizenship.

In the initial FIR, police mentioned that Nasri was taken into custody, but she was not arrested.
All four were picked up from their rented apartment on Sadhu Beedi Company Road at Elayavoor in Kannur city on Tuesday.

According to the FIR, registered in the early hours of Wednesday, they have been booked under Sections 3(1) and 21 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 for entering India without valid documents, such as passports and visas.

SI Akhil said all four were working in Ayush Spa on PVS Road in Kannur. "One of them has been in Kerala for the past four years," he said. A team led by SI Akhil reached the apartment around 4 pm on Tuesday and found Nazma Akter, Taslima Khatun and Moyna Khatun on the first floor. They initially gave the names Payal, Tasleema Aisha and Mohna but could not provide clear addresses, the FIR said.

Police then examined their mobile phones and found photographs of Bangladeshi National ID Cards in their galleries. According to the FIR, they told police that they had been brought back from Bangladesh by Bepin, who runs Ayush Spa.

When contacted, Bepin disputed this account. He said the three women were arrested based on information provided by Salina Akter, the Bangladeshi woman arrested on Monday from My Spa Ayurvedic Hub, near Kannur Railway Station.

Bepin said Salina had worked at his spa for a day and that he had let her go because of what he described as a drinking problem. "I didn't know they were all connected," he said. He said he had employed the three women around 18 days ago after they showed him their Aadhaar, identifying them as residents of Kolkata.

“They gave me their Aadhaar, which said they were residents of Kolkata. Immediately after hiring them, I shared their Aadhaar details with the police, as required. How can I verify whether an Aadhaar is genuine or fake? That is the police's job,” Bepin said.

He also denied the allegation that he had brought the women back to India from Bangladesh. “The allegation in the FIR that I brought them to India is utter nonsense. They showed me experience certificates saying they had worked in Bengaluru,” said Bepin, who started his spa one year ago. He said apart from these women, all his other employees were Malayalis.

Bepin said he employed them for around ₹15,000 per month and was paying them through UPI.
The police have taken the mobile phones of the three women into custody as part of the investigation. Police said they used fake documents to open bank accounts and buy SIM cards.