A job interview and a party invite that ended in a gang rape in Kochi

After 10 days in hospital, most of them in the intensive care unit (ICU), Sona*, a 20-year-old Dalit woman and the survivor in the Kalamassery gang rape case, was discharged on Tuesday, October 13. “She is better now, she has started talking,” said her husband, who was with her at the Kalamassery Medical College in Kochi.

Sona’s nightmare started on October 2 when she attended an interview for the position of manager at a private Ayurvedic spa in Edappally, dreaming of a job after she took a break due to an abortion. She got the job, after which she was invited to attend an office party in the evening at a hotel nearby. There she was sexually assaulted by at least three men and one woman for almost two days after allegedly being given narcotic substances.

After managing to escape from the hotel, she opened up about the incident to her husband and they subsequently filed a police complaint.

“We decided to complain because we don’t want any other woman to go through the same experience. We will continue our legal fight. Someone needs to fight them. If something like this happens, no one speaks about it; that’s what they also want. But this should end,” Sona’s husband told TNM.

Two days after the alleged crime, the Kalamassery police arrested two accused – 30-year-old Sreeraj from Alappuzha and 27-year-old Jith Martin from Ernakulam. Both were remanded to judicial custody. On October 7, the police arrested two more accused, Saranya (Ammu) and VS Sanjay, who were absconding after the incident.

Investigation is under way to check if there are any more victims. Police also found that the key accused, Sreeraj, is a habitual offender and has been booked in similar cases earlier.

Meanwhile, a severely injured Sona was admitted to the Kalamassery Medical College’s ICU. Her husband recalled that she remained silent throughout the first few days of her hospitalisation, and later got better and identified the attackers.

The Women’s Commission in Kerala also filed a suo motu case over the incident.

The interview

After getting married in March 2026, Sona worked as a teacher in a private kindergarten. After she underwent an abortion, she took a break from working. According to her husband, she had some mental health issues following the abortion.

Then she saw the spa manager role opening on OLX and applied for it. The interview was scheduled for the morning of October 2.

The advertisement said the vacancy was for “personal staff”, with Sreeraj’s name as business owner but no company name. Many businesses were listed, including daily rental rooms, an Ayurvedic wellness spa and a beauty parlour.

Sona was directed to the Delight Ayurvedic Wellness Spa Centre, located in Unnichira in Edappally. It was a two-story house converted into a spa. According to the neighbours, the spa has functioned there for almost 4 years. “We didn’t have any clue about what was happening there until this incident,” a person who runs a shop nearby told TNM.

Following the police search, the spa nameboards were removed from the building and the spa was closed when TNM visited on October 14.

The sexual assault

Sona’s husband, who works as a driver, was away on an out-station trip when she left for the interview on October 2. “She called me around 10 am to say that the interview was over and that she had been selected for the position,” he said.

She also told him that the company had invited her to attend a party that evening. “Initially I said no, but I didn’t stop her as she was having some mental health issues after the abortion,” he said. He said that the invite was from a woman and that’s why Sona chose to go.

But Sona was not available on the phone till 6.30 pm the next day. When he called and asked their house owner to check, she was not at home. 

“I tried to call her multiple times, but the call was not connecting. Then the next evening she picked up my call. She said she had gone to a friend’s house and couldn’t pick my calls because there was some problem with her phone display. She said she was on her way home, adding that her lips were swollen because of the heat,” he recalled.

The abuse Sona endured came to light when she opened up to her husband late in the night on October 3.

“When I reached home, she was in our bedroom, lying down. She was mentally tired. I asked her what happened and initially she was hesitant to open up. After I asked her multiple times, she started to explain,” he added.

Sona said when she entered the hotel room for the office party, they gave her ice cream and other soft drinks allegedly mixed with drugs, which later left her unconscious. She was then held captive and sexually assaulted for almost two days. Her husband also said that her phone and other belongings had been taken away.

“She doesn’t recall much but she remembers the three men and the woman who abused her,” he added.

When she regained consciousness, she asked for her phone. She also threatened to take her own life to try and escape. “She threatened to kill herself and tried to stab herself with a beer bottle. That was when they gave her back her phone and other belongings,” her husband said, adding that she left soon after.

He took her to the Kalamassery Medical College and subsequently the police registered the First Information Report (FIR).

Recalling that night, Sona’s husband said that she was in such a bad physical condition that she was unable to even walk. “I had to carry her to the hospital. As soon as we reached there, they immediately admitted her to the ICU,” he said.

“She is really brave, that’s why she was able to return home even after that ordeal,” he added.

TNM visited the hotel where the incident allegedly took place, but the owner denied it took place there. The owner added that Sreeraj used to take rooms at his hotel. He further said they would fully cooperate with the police for the investigation.

However, Sona’s husband maintained that the incident happened in the hotel and the room number was 301.

The arrests

All the accused were arrested by the Kalamassery police within four days of the alleged crime. 

Speaking to the media, Kochi Police Commissioner Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar S IPS said that the police identified five spas owned by Sreeraj and took action to close them. “We identified five such spas, conducted search operations there and took action to close them,” he stated. 

Speaking to TNM, Thrikkakkara Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Bijoy Chandran said that the five spas the police conducted searches at are in Palarivattom, Kalamassery and Thrikkakkara. “All the spas we checked appeared to be non-operational or abandoned at the time of our visits,” he added.

The police are currently investigating whether Sreeraj has ownership stakes in any of these five establishments. “We have been able to establish a connection between him and these establishments. He is the person recruiting the staff and he also receives income from these establishments. Even if the registered owners are different individuals, the first accused is the person managing and operating them,” ACP Bijoy said.

Sreeraj has five cases registered against him, including a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. According to the police, there were two FIRs against him in 2023 in connection with similar incidents in Palarivattom and Thrikkakara. Both cases involve allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women. Those cases were registered under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with assault against women and sexual harassment.

“In one of these cases, although the woman had been appointed as a personal secretary, he allegedly told her the following day that she would have to learn massage techniques, take care of other duties and also give him a massage,” the ACP said.

Other cases include the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the Excise Department.

Following the Kalamassery incident, the police have not received any other complaints so far. “Many women are reluctant to come forward and file complaints, due to privacy concerns and related issues,” the ACP said.

‘Anyone can start a spa’

According to the police, the current investigation has revealed that many of the activities being carried out in Ernakulam in the name of spas need to be examined to determine whether they are being conducted in their proper and legitimate form. Spa establishments need to obtain certificates from various departments, including Local Self-Government, municipality, panchayat, AYUSH Department and the Tourism Department. 

“Under the current rules, anyone can open a spa. However, if someone wants to run a spa properly, there should ideally be a qualified medical practitioner or trained professional with knowledge of Ayurveda, massage therapy and related practices. We did not find any such qualified professionals at the spas we inspected,” the ACP said.

Speaking to the media, Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar also said that due to licensing being handled by different departments, the police are now considering issuing a single license to those operating spas.

* Names changed