Cops book fourth city bar for hiring women dancers

The Mumbai police on Monday night raided a bar in the city for contravening the newly formed Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurant and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women Act. This is the fourth dance bar in the city to be booked under the controversial law.

According to police officials, they had received a tip that S 54 bar and restaurant, also known as Sea Bird Bar located in Khira Nagar in Santacruz, was illegally operating a dance bar. “The place was running an orchestra bar but would in fact hold dance performances by women,” said an officer. The police rescued seven women from the bar. They were allegedly hired as waiters but were made to perform obscene acts, said the police.

Following a Supreme Court order directing the state to issue licenses to dance bars, the Mumbai police started the process for the same. But till date licenses have been issued only to three bars, while licenses for others have been put on hold.

Many bar owners, represented by the Bar Owners Association, have raised their voice against the new Act, which in addition to listing out conditions for bars to follow also levies hefty fines and punishments on the erring owners.

In the current raid, the police have named 10 people as accused including the owner and manager of the bar. “The owner of the bar is absconding and we have launched a man hunt for him,” said an officer. Those arrested have been booked under sections 3 and 8 of the new Act. “If convicted those arrested face either a sentence of maximum five years or a fine of either `5 lakh or 10 lakh or even a fine for each day they operated the bar illegally,” said an officer.

The Mumbai police, while giving out licenses, is simultaneously tightening the noose on the dance bars in the city. “The bar raided on Tuesday did not have a license and neither had it applied for one. Even if it had, the infrastructure inside did not meet the conditions specified under the new law,” said the officer.

The police seized `55, 320 from the bar and have booked the accused under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and remanded them to police custody.