A month after officials from the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police commissionerate raided a ladies orchestra bar in Bhayandar (east) and rescued six bar girls who were holed up in secret cavities, a team from the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) led by deputy civic chief- Ajit Muthe demolished the illegal constructions on Tuesday.
The MBVV team headed by DCP (Zone I)- Amit Kale had raided the bar on 27, February. The initial search within the bar came up with nothing incriminating. However, the informer posing as a customer had not only confirmed the presence of bar girls, but had filmed the entire ongoing vulgarities in his mobile phone, prompting the police team to examine every inch of the premises. Soon they found that the portion of a mirrored back wall was actually a secret door which led to a cramped cavity.
The fire brigade personnel were called and six girls who were virtually forced to squeeze themselves in the cavity were rescued. Realizing the fact that just raids and arrests did not act as deterrents for a section of notorious bar owners, the police decided to strike at the root by roping in the civic authorities to demolish the structures.
After an inspection, Muthe personally led the team to demolish the illegal structures which had cropped up in the establishment and issued orders to the concerned ward officer to register an offense under the provisions of the Maharashtra Regional Town planning (MRTP) Act, 1966 against the owner.
Not ruling out the possibility of bar girls suffocating to death after being confined in such cramped spaces, the police department has been repeatedly requesting the civic administration to identify, inspect and take corrective action against the violators, following which notices were slapped to around 70 such establishments to fall in line or face punitive action last year.