Nagpur: Dhantoli police and State Excise Department jointly raided Sitabuldi-based Needos Bar & Restaurant on Friday night. Four girls, all from outstation, were detained and a large stock of liquor worth Rs 2.62 lakh was seized during the raid action. The Director of the bar was also arrested. The midnight raid, which continued till wee hours, caused ripples in bars across the city.
The raid was carried out at Needos Bar situated near Munje Square in Sitabuldi by State Excise Department Superintendent Swati Kakde and a team of Dhantoli police on the directives of District Collector Sachin Kurve and DCP Zone 2 Rakesh Ola. The four girls were found singing and dancing and “treating” the customers. Sources claimed that the Bar was running a dance bar in the guise of music band. The raiding sleuths searched every place in the bar including the cabin of Bar Director Rajiv Jaiswal and seized liquor bottles from there also. A resident of 103, Saishraddha, Bante Layout, Somalwada, Rajiv Pyarelal Jaiswal (52) has been booked under relevant Sections of Maharashtra Prohibition Act and arrested. A total of 967 liquor bottles of different brands were seized.
According to sources, the regular customers were being treated with cannabis such as charas, ganja, opium etc in the guise of ‘paan masala.’ Police were tipped off about the cannabis but no such stuff was found during the raid. Earlier also, raids were conducted on the bar in 2014.
The raid was conducted by Flying Squad of State Excise Department comprising Superintendent Swati Kakde, Inspector Prashant Gotmare, In-Charge Inspector D P Varthi, Second Inspector P S Mohankar, and a team of cops consisting Sitabuldi ACP Rajendra Boravake, Dhantoli API Kamalakar Gaddime, Woman PSI Madhuri Waghade, NPCs Suresh, Virendra, Deepak, Sepoy Mukesh and Woman Police Constable Rita under the directives of District Collector Sachin Kurve and DCP Zone 2 Rakesh Ola.
