Seventeen arrested in raid at thriving dance bar, cash recovery abysmally low

BHAYANDAR: Sleuths of the Thane (rural) police led by SP Dr Mahesh Patil has continued his crackdown against bars involved in vulgarity. The Navghar police carried out a raid at a ladies orchestra bar in Bhayandar and apprehended women who were found swirling to the tunes of pre-recorded Marathi numbers at around 1:40 am on Saturday. However the raid as per the police was big, but recovery abysmally low. Acting on a tip-off about vulgar activities, personnel from the Navghar police station led by PSI Girish Balchim under the instructions of SPI Ram Bhalsingh, swooped down on Hotel Mehendi, a notorious ladies orchestra bar located in the Navghar Road area of Bhayandar (east). Thirteen people including seven bar girls along with the manager Santosh Shetty, cashier Prakash Shetty, live band performers and other staffers were arrested and booked under section 294 (indulging in obscene acts and songs) of the IPC and relevant sections of the Mumbai Police Act, 1951. Ironically, the police team has recovered just Rs 3,000 cash from the bar which according to their own testimony was thriving with illegal activities at the time it was raided. Despite carrying out a number of raids on Mehendi Bar, the owners have failed to mend their ways and have been continuing with their illegal activities. It has been alleged that during police rounds some bar owners make girls sit on the stage as singers who later get down and indulge in obscene acts.