The dancers were hidden inside a secret basement behind a make-up room, officials said.
At least 17 women were rescued during a raid at a dance bar in Mumbai's Andheri, the police said today. The women were found inside a secret basement which was connected to a make-up room, they said, adding that the dance bar officials hid the women after they were alerted about the raid with the help of an advanced electronic system placed at its premises.
The raid was carried out at Deepa bar in upscale Andheri on Saturday following a tip-off that women were being made to dance in front of customers there. The search operation, however, did not go as planned for the police team: the bathroom, storage room and even the kitchen (the places used by officials to hide bar girls) were empty. The sustained questioning of bar manager, cashier, and the waiter also did not yield any progress as they kept on denying that dance women were used in the bar, officials said.
However, a large mirror in the make-up room caught the attention of the officials. An effort to remove the mirror from the wall turned out to be unsuccessful as it was found that the mirror has been very strategically attached to it.
The mirror was later broken with a hammer and a passage that led to the secret basement was found inside. Seventeen dancers were found inside the hidden dungeon. The hidden basement had all the facilities like AC, beds, officials said.
A case has been registered against the staff including the bar's manager and cashier.