Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Massage parlour manager who raped women in London jailed

Raghu Singamaneni ran two parlours and lured women on jobs app

Massage parlour manager who raped women in London jailed

A 50-YEAR-OLD, who used the lure of jobs at his massage parlour to rape young women across London, has been sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment.

Wood Green Crown Court unanimously found Raghu Singamaneni guilty of rape and sexual assault involving four women. His sentencing took place on Friday (16).

The trial heard how Singamaneni ran two massage parlours on Holloway Road, Islington, and High Road, Wood Green, in north London.

He would advertise on a jobs app for women to work at his parlour and make appointments to meet the aspirants before carrying out sexual assaults, the Metropolitan Police said.

“This man used his position of authority to carry out a string of sexual assaults on young women. Many of these women were lured by the hope of employment, but were then subjected to the most dreadful sexual assaults,” said detective constable Hussain Sayem, who led the investigation.

The first victim who reported the matter to the police was 17 – she had arranged to meet Singamaneni for an interview.

She told police that she met him at his parlour and he went through the training she would need.

She again met Singamaneni at the parlour the next day and he gave her a glass of prosecco. She told the police that she then became so intoxicated she was sick.

Singamaneni then took her to a hotel where he carried out a sexual assault - attempting to rape the woman.

Just more than two weeks later, the victim made a complaint at Tottenham police station in London and Singamaneni was arrested and released under investigation while further enquiries were made.

A second offence was related to a 19-year-old woman who reported rape at her place of work in north London. She told police that Singamaneni had asked for a massage, insisted that she drink some vodka and then raped her.

Enquiries revealed another offence occurred when a 23-year-old woman arranged to meet Singamaneni after answering a job advert. She arranged to meet him at a hotel and when they entered the hotel room, Singamaneni plied her with alcohol and later forcibly removed her clothing and raped her.

The last offence happened at another north London hotel involving a 17-year-old female, who had also applied for a job as a masseur and had spoken to a woman about an interview. The woman told her to go to the hotel where she would meet someone to have a trial massage.

Singamaneni offered her drinks and drugs and then raped her, the court heard.

She left the hotel and called a friend who then reported the matter to the police.

The Met Police said detectives compiled evidence from the women and Singamaneni was arrested. He was convicted of three counts of rape; two counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted rape – relating to four women.

(PTI)

More For You

Hasmukh Shah

The certificate was presented to Shah at the Welsh parliament by Anita Bailey, Home Office Director Windrush Unit.

Hasmukh Shah receives UK minister’s certificate of appreciation

A prominent Asian doctor has been recognised for his services to the community. Prof Hasmukh Shah has received a certificate of appreciation for his contribution and services to the United Kingdom.

The certificate was issued by Seema Malhotra MP, UK Minister for Migration and Citizenship, as part of the Windrush Cymru Elders and Race Council Cymru’s Windrush work in Wales.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dalai-Lama-Getty

Dalai Lama looks on as offerings presented by Buddhist followers are laid on a table during a Long Life Prayer offering ceremony at the Main Tibetan Temple in McLeod Ganj, near Dharamsala, India, on June 30, 2025.(Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

India says Dalai Lama alone can decide successor

A SENIOR Indian minister has said that only the Dalai Lama and the organisation he has established have the authority to decide his successor as the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. The comment runs contrary to China’s long-standing position on the matter.

The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule, said on Wednesday that after his death he would be reincarnated as the next spiritual leader, and that only the Gaden Phodrang Trust would be able to identify his successor. He had earlier said that the next Dalai Lama would be born outside China.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pakistan’s ‘killer mountain’ claims Czech climber’s life

FILE PHOTO: Foreign tourists and their guides trek down from Nanga Parbat base camp. (Photo by AMELIE HERENSTEIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Pakistan’s ‘killer mountain’ claims Czech climber’s life

A CZECH mountaineer fell to her death on the world's ninth-highest peak, Pakistan officials said Friday (4), becoming the first casualty of the summer climbing season in the country.

Klara Kolouchova, 46, the first Czech woman to summit the world's two highest mountains, died on Thursday (3) after falling on the lower slopes of Nanga Parbat.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mamdani’s win over Cuomo reshapes NYC political landscape

Zohran Mamdani addresses supporters in Queens, New York City

Mamdani’s win over Cuomo reshapes NYC political landscape

INDIAN AMERICAN lawmaker Zohran Kwame Mamdani last week clinched the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City, defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo in what is being described as one of the most unexpected results in recent city political history.

Mamdani, 33, a state assemblyman representing Queens and a self-declared democratic socialist, stands on the brink of becoming New York’s first Muslim and Indian American mayor.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk home office

The PAC said the Home Office relies on airline passenger records to track departures but has not reviewed this data since 2020. (Photo: iStock)

iStock

MPs say Home Office unaware if foreign workers leave UK after visas expire

THE HOME OFFICE does not know whether foreign workers are leaving the UK or staying on illegally after their visas expire, according to a cross-party group of MPs.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which oversees government spending, said the department has not analysed exit check data since the skilled worker visa was introduced in 2020, the BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less