BHUBANESWAR: Launching a crackdown on dance bars functioning illegal in the city, Commissionerate Police on Friday rescued 96 girls from different places on Cuttack-Puri road.
Bhubaneswar Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Anup Sahu said the raids were conducted after police received complaints that many bars are operating as dance bars and engaged woman dancers without a valid licence.
“The raids were conducted at least 10 different places and 96 girls were rescued,” Sahu said.
Apart from Odisha, the rescued girls are from West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Mumbai.
The girls were detained for ID proofs and were released later, Sahu said.
The Excise Act 2008 of Odisha government doesn’t have any provision for engagement of women dancers in bars. The bars raided on Friday night also didn’t have police permission for loud music, he said and added that such raids are being conducted time to time to put a check on owners not adhering to the law.
The bar owners, however, claimed that they were not operating illegally as Odisha Excise rules 2017 allows engagement of women above 21 years in bars for dance and musical programmes. Some bar owners also stated that they are suffering due to the contradiction in the 2008 Act and the new Odisha Excise rules.
The City DCP, however, said as per Law Department’s observation, rules can not override an Act and therefore engaging girls in dance bars in Odisha is considered illegal.
“We will submit prosecution reports to the licensing authorities (Excise Department and the state government) for necessary action at their end,” Sahu said.