MBMC starts razing secret cavities in orchestra bars

Mumbai: Realising the fact that just raids and arrests did not act as deterrents for a section of notorious bar owners, the Thane (rural) police has begun a drive to unearth secret compartments in orchestra bars which were used to hide girls during police raids. On Tuesday, personnel from the anti-encroachment wing of the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) along with their counterparts from the Navghar police station, led by senior police inspector Ram Bhalsing, razed secret hideouts at two notorious live orchestra bars.

“Based on the complaint by the local police, we carried out the demolition of cavities. Process was on to book the bar owners under the relevant sections of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act.” confirmed MBMC ward officer- Govind Parab. Not ruling out the possibility of bar girls suffocating to death after being confined in such cramped spaces, Assistant Superintendent of Police-Atul Kulkarni said, “These structures are illegal and it is obvious that there is no legal permission to construct any such cavities where girls can be hidden during raids. To weed out the menace, we have requested the civic administration to identify, inspect and take corrective action against such violators.”

It should be noted that the civic administration had slapped notices to around 70 such establishments to destroy such hideouts or any other illegally carried out structural changes. While some bar owners complied, a section of them have brazenly opted to neglect the notices and thus, the authorities swung into action and demolished the structures amidst tight police cover on Tuesday.