Mumbai: Secret hideouts in bars come under cop scanner

Bars in the city, which have introduced structural changes inside their premises without the consent of the BMC, are likely to face severe action, sources in the Mumbai Police confirmed.

Datta Padsalgikar

According to officials, Mumbai Police Commissioner Dattatray Padsalgikar recently ordered his team to accompany BMC officials at city bars and carry out a proper structural audit. The officers have been asked to submit a progress report within this week. "We have received the order to carry out an audit along with BMC officials," an official confirmed.

Sources said FIRs would be lodged against those bar owners found flouting rules. "All police stations have been instructed to take strict action under the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MR­TP) Act," Padsalgikar confirmed.

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Sources said that several bars in Mumbai don't follow rules as stipulated by the police, and often carry out structural changes to avoid brush with the law. For instance, the rule states that only four women can be allowed on a podium, but bar owners flout it rampantly. During surprise raids, they hide the women inside cavities, created within the premises.

Two recent raids by the social service branch found girls hidden behind a wall cavity.

On September 16, a raid was conducted at Saroj Palace Bar near Marol, where the police had found two cavities within the premises, and rescued eight bar girls. In another raid, cops rescued seven bar girls. DCP's Shivdeep Lande, ANC, who led these raids, said that the problem needed to be immediately addressed.