Owners cry foul over police raids, strict guidelines

Pub owners are crying foul after the police banned deployment of bouncers and stag entries in discotheques and bars in Gurgaon. Leena Dhankar reports.

Pub owners are crying foul after the police banned deployment of bouncers and stag entries in discotheques and bars in Gurgaon.

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In a meeting with the city’s pub owners on Wednesday, deputy commissioner of police (crime) Maheshwar Dayal said the ban has been imposed to avoid brawl-like situations outside bars and discotheques. But the owners are not happy with the move.

Satya Mohanty, owner of Empire Club at MGF Mall, said, “How can the police do injustice to us because of an incident at Sahara Mall. We have never received any complaint from our pub. It is harassing as more than 25 policemen enter our club and make our customers uncomfortable. Instead of enjoying, people feel they are at an illegal place. We will not let this happen.”

“We will not accept the police high-handedness. We cannot survive without stag entries. Couple entries are not enough to run our business,” said Shamsher Singh, another pub owner at DLF City Centre Mall on MG Road.

The owners are finding it difficult to run their businesses due to regular police raids in MG Road pubs and bars.

The DCP, however, said, “Couples do not feel safe coming here. We aim to make Gurgaon a decent and safe place, so we cannot compromise on these issues.”