Op ‘VIRAM’: Dance bar in Delhi busted, 12 held

New Delhi: Despite the ban of bar girls services in the national Capital since the gruesome murder of a 30-year-old model cum celebrity bar dancer Jessica Lal at a New Delhi’s bar in 1999, several bars in Delhi are secretly providing services of lady bar dancers in congested areas like Paharganj and Nabi Karim, Shakarpur and some other areas in the Capital.

Following the inputs, the Central district police under the operation “VIRAM” conducted a massive checking drive at as many as 20 bars in the area of Paharganj and Nabi Karim area on Friday night. During the drive, Delhi police apprehended seven bar girls and five customers from “Gems Bar” situated in Paharganj market. The owner of the bar Akhilesh Pathak, a resident of Tilak Nagar Delhi was arrested too.

Sanjay Kumar Sain, DCP, Centre district said that on May 5 a special drive under Operation “VIRAM” was conducted by joint team of Paharganj police station and operation wing in order to conduct surprise checking of Bars operating in Paharganj and Nabi Karim area to take action against the bars engaged in illegal activities.

“To make our operation successfull, we sent police personnel posing as decoy customers in several bars. After visiting few bars, police personnel posing themselves as decoy customers informed the other team members who were waiting at a safe distance that bar girl dance is being organised in “Gems Bar”, Main Bazar Paharganj,” said Sanjay Kumar Sain, DCP, Central.

“Subsequently, a our police team conducted raid at “Gems Bar” where 7 girls were found performing dance. There were 5 customers who were enjoying the dance and throwing currency notes on the girls. The above including the owner have been arrested,” DCP mentioned.

The girls was found engaged in dance. They were all major and working on daily wages. The bar dancers belongs from

different states Sikkim, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana. Customers were also from different states and they were in Delhi for business purpose etc, the DCP said.

Adding that he said, “We have registered a case against them under section 294/34 IPC at Paharganj police station,”

During interrogation, it was revealed that the dance was being performed regularly for a small duration and the timings varies every day. The owner of the bar had also hired private bouncers to keep vigil on police personnel. An escape route to roof was also there to slip away in case of police raid. But as the police personnel were already inside the base posing customers their idea could not succeed, the official further said.

Bar owner Akhilesh Pathak owns few other bars in Delhi. He suffered huge financial loss due to the Covid pandemic. To overcome, the financial loss, he wanted more footfall or customers in the bar for

which he used the idea of organising a bar dance in his bar. Further investigation is underway, they added.