Cops claim girls are employed as bartenders, but their real job is to charm customers

There may be a strict ban on live bands in the city's bars, but that hasn't deterred bar owners. On Saturday, the Vyyalikaval police raided Orange Bar and Restaurant and arrested 40 persons including 11 girls, 22 customers and 7 bartenders. However, the owner of the bar, identified as Jayaprakash, managed to escape.

The police team, led by Vyyalikaval inspector Abdul Khadar, disguised themselves as customers, entered the bar and caught the girls performing red-handed. Khadar, who filed a complaint in his own station against the bar for violating excise rules as well as the Licensing and Controlling Act said, "The girls were dressed provocatively.

They were dancing and customers were showering money on them. The raid was conducted based on a tip off."
The police have also seized around Rs 80,000 in total and around Rs 1,500 from the bar girls.

According to the police, all the girls were from north India and had been employed as bartenders. When dance bars were banned from employing women as dancers, they blatantly took advantage of the September 2008 High Court order (see box) and officially employed women as bartenders, but unofficially, made them lure customers with their charm on a commission basis. Whatever tips they earned, they had to share with the management.

Meanwhile, police commissioner S M Bidri has said he would write to the government to file a petition before the High Court to vacate the single bench order.