`Dance Bar’ Raided Near Panchgani, Several Arrested

Several were arrested after women were found performing obscene dances at a hotel near the hill station of Panchgani.

Satara:As many as 21 persons have been arrested after women were found performing obscene dances at a hotel near the hill station of Panchgani in Maharashtra, police said on Wednesday. The owner of Hotel Hirabaug, located in Bhilar in Satara district, was among the accused, officials said.

A First Information Report was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants, and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women Act, 2016, as well as the Maharashtra Prohibition Act. A raid was conducted on Tuesday after receiving information that women served as bar dancers at the hotel, said a release issued by Satara Police.

"Some 12 women, under the guise of singers and waitresses, wearing skimpy dresses were engaged in obscene dances in front of around 20 customers," it said. Musical equipment, mobile phones and a car, worth more than Rs 25 lakh, were seized and further probe was on, the release said.

A police officer said they were probing from where these women were brought. They women would be handed over to their relatives after counselling, he added.