KARACHI, Oct 25: Police raided two massage parlours in Delton Market, popularly known as Khadda Market, in phase V of the Defence area on Friday and arrested several persons.

“We detained eight women and four men after raids on the parlours,” said SHO of the Darakhshan police station Zawar Hussain.

He said they had been booked under Section 294 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which pertained to perceived ‘obscene acts or songs.’

SSP-South Munir Ahmed Sheikh told Dawn that police had given a warning to the operators of the parlours before the raids to stop them from what the officials believed to be objectionable activities.

He said the raids were conducted over growing complaints of area people and were aimed at giving a message to the parlours’ owners. Police had also talked to operators of other parlours asking them to avoid obscene activities, otherwise legal action would be taken against them, he said.

The police raid on the parlours was widely criticised on social media, with users making comments that the law enforcement agencies, instead of focusing on terrorists, targeted killers, extortionists and bank robbers, were diverting their attention towards the parlours, which was not their real job. —Staff Reporter