The revelation and raid on a dance bar in the heart of the capital has triggered a political controversy in the State.
After police swooped down on a party in a hotel in Panaji, where several men, including a sitting legislator from Uttar Pradesh were sitting on soft, white mattresses on the floor and women were performing a mujra to Bollywood songs, Opposition parties are now taking on the BJP Government for allowing the dance bar menace to flourish.
“Imagine a dance bar functioning right in the middle of Panaji, the capital and the Chief Minister’s constituency. And that too after CM Manohar Parrikar on August 15 in his public speech announced that no dance bars would be allowed in the State,” NCP spokesperson Trajano D’Mello said.
Following an anonymous phone call on early Tuesday morning, the police raided a city hotel resulting in the rescue of six women and the arrest of six men, including a sitting Samajwadi Party legislator from Uttar Pradesh. Police said that two other arrested persons — Jaipratap Singh and Dharmendra Pratap — from Uttar Pradesh were also Samajwadi party leaders.
“We raided the place at around 1 am on Tuesday. It was clearly a mujra which was happening there, with the girls dancing and the accused persons sitting with wads of money and alcohol,” a police official said.
The Panaji police said the six girls rescued were brought into the State by the touring party from New Delhi and Mumbai.
The incident has thrown the spotlight on the State’s shady prostitution rackets that have been proliferating, albeit underground. Congress spokesperson Agnelo Fernandes, who used to earlier represent the coastal constituency also famous for drugs and prostitution, said that the instance proved that the Government was selectively targeting the coastal belt while the illegal practice was also taking place right under their nose.
“If this is the state of the capital, I cannot even think what happens along the beach belt, with the law and order situation already so bad,” Fernandes said.
Police are now probing whether the girls were also procured for prostitution purpose.
While Goa is home to trance music, open air parties and even having a genre of trance music dedicated to its name, the phenomenon of dance bars, where playboys splurge money on dancing women, is relatively new.
Earlier this month, in the wake of the Supreme Court directive revoking ban on dance bars, State BJP vice president Wilfred Mesquita gave a thumbs up to dance bars speaking in a different voice than from his party.
“If alcohol which is the worst, is allowed to flow in the gutters of Goa, I can’t see why you have a problem against it (dance bars),” Mesquita had told a Press conference on August 9.
Chief Minister Parrikar, however, found support in one of his Ministers saying that the police action was the result of a firm Government.
“The Government is firm. Even if the Supreme Court has no objection to dance bars, the Goa Government will remain firm. We will break down all dance bars,” Dilip Parulekar had said.