'They treated us like criminals'

Three days after Mid-DAY reported the police raid on bars on February 18, where more than 21 people were arrested from Laxmi Punjab (LP) Bar in Mumbai, one of those arrested has used a blog to express his anguish and vent his anger against the police. This has, in turn, lead to angry reactions in the blogosphere

Arun Ravi, a musician by profession and also the writer of the blog, described the horrifying night he and his friends had to spend in the lockup. In his blog, Ravi mentioned that at around 11.00pm, he and his friends decided to go to LP bar for food and drinks after a band practice session.

Suddenly, at around 11.15pm, a group of policeman raided the bar. Many were detained and taken to the Cooper hospital in Juhu. After a medical test, they were taken back to the police station and, at around 1am, forced into the lock up. When asked why they were being arrested, the police alleged that they were drinking in a bar without a liquor permit.

At around 4am, they were forced to fill up forms and taken back to Cooper hospital for a breath analyzer test. Ravi grumbled that they were treated like common criminals, which irked one of their friends.

At 6.15, they were tested again. However, one of the policemen, who was allegedly drunk and also present at the bar, was not detained or prosecuted. At around 7.15 am, the police found this to be a bad joke and released everyone after they were made to fill out the arrest forms.

The Other Side:

PP Muttiyal, deputy commissioner of police zone XI said, "LP did not have a permit to serve liquor in their premises, but were serving it nonetheless. According to the Prohibition Act, we are supposed to prosecute all those who are present in the premises. The allegations made by Ravi, of leaving them late in the morning, is right, but they need to understand that so many people were taken for a medical test and only after the medical test is done will we be able to find out whether the person is drunk or not. We released a few after the medical report revealed that they were not under the influence of alcohol."

When asked about the allegation of a constable been present at the bar and drinking there, Muttiyal said that he did not see any constable nor had anyone brought this to his notice. "If we have evidence, I will take stern action against the constable," he promised.

Click for a first-person account of what Ravi experienced the night of the arrest.