The increasing menace of raunchy dance bars and sex rackets operating under the guise of live orchestra shows has once again come to the fore in Mira Road. Irate over the constant nuisance and a deaf ear turned to their complaints by the local police, residents of Chandresh Accord complex near Silver Park in Mira Road have taken upon themselves to act against one such shady establishment identified as Hotel Madonna- a shady orchestra-cum-dance bar which operates from the first floor.
The owner has also purchased some of the flats on the second floor of the four storied building. Residents bolted the door of a flat on the second floor of the building and informed the police at around 11:30 pm.
Bar staff escape during police raids
According to residents the flats were being used as a safe house to hide bar girls under the garb of staff quarters. By the time the police arrived the operator, manager, waiters, musicians and soliciting customers had already fled the spot. However, more than a dozen bar girls were present inside the flat.
“A major nuisance for all of us-especially women, this bar has destroyed the peace and harmony of the complex. Apart from drunken brawls, eve teasing, loud noise till the wee hours, the bar owner has also carried out major internal alterations,” said Advocate John D’mello, a resident of the building who has been fighting against the illegal and immoral activities for the past several years. It has been alleged that apart from cosmetic raids, the police have done little to put a permanent end to the menace which has forced several residents to shift their homes.
License suspended multiple times
The senior police inspector of the Mira Road police station remained unavailable for his comments. Licenses of this bar have been suspended multiple times, but thanks to the blessings bestowed by the custodians of law including the excise department, the establishment starts its activities with a new name which has changed at least four times in the past one decade. Notably, scores of orchestra bars have mushroomed amidst densely populated residential pockets of the twin-city despite stiff opposition by local citizens.
