Two bar owners who kept staff in cramped room cleared of charges

The court also acquitted seven bar girls, who were arrested under section 294 (obscene act in any public place) of the Indian Penal Code during the raid.

A city court recently acquitted two bar owners of attempted culpable homicide charges for want of evidence. The two were arrested in 2012, after the police found three women kept in a cramped, dirty room in the bar during a raid.

A city court recently acquitted two bar owners of attempted culpable homicide charges for want of evidence. (Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO)

The court also acquitted seven bar girls, who were arrested under section 294 (obscene act in any public place) of the Indian Penal Code during the raid.

In 2012, the Samta Nagar police raided the bar. According to police, they found a secret door in the make-up room. Behind it, they found a staircase leading to a 32-square-feet room. There were three bar girls in the room, which was dimly-lit and dirty, said police.

Subsequently, the bar owners – a 31-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman – were arrested for attempted culpable homicide. Seven bar girls who were allegedly making obscene gestures at the customers were also arrested.

Acquitting the accused, additional sessions judge Krupesh More noted that none of the girls “made any complaint about the said room. They did not make any statement [about it].” The court held that the prosecution’s panch witnesses had turned hostile.

The court noted the investigating officer found no evidence to prove the charge of obscene act.