The police raided the dance bars in suburban Mumbai, after they were tipped off
that dance performers were being conducted in violation of the new laws. The police said six of the bars, owned by notorious criminals were, found violating the law while in the others the women were merely employed as waitresses.
Those arrested from the functioning dance bars, including 90 bar girls,111 customers and bar staff have been taken into custody.
Meanwhile, the Dance Bar Owners Association has denied that the six barswere holding illegal dance performances. In a statement, the association said the women were only employed as waitresses and the
raids were
conducted to harass the owners. “The police has deliberately detained the customers and the waitresses,” Mr Manjit Singh Abrol,
who heads the association, said in the statement.
According to police officials, 12 teams were deputed to raid dance bars in different parts of the city.
The raiding parties were not informed of the targets till the last minute after which they were forced to stay incommunicado till the
raids were over.
