Munde8217;s Raid Alert

It can8217;t be a coincidence. Just 18 months to the assembly elections and as the government comes under increasing flak for the deteriorting law and order situation in the city, our home minister Mr Gopinath Munde has found through some deft first-hand investigations that ladies bars in the far-off suburbs of Mulund and Vikhroli remain open beyond the stipulated hours in the night. The knowledge upset him so much that he immediately suspended a traffic inspector and transferred three officers, including the Deputy Commissioner of Police Mulund-Bhandup, Dalbir Bharti. It is rather surprising that it took the minister over three years and a midnight raid to expose8217; something that is common knowledge in Mumbai. That bars, especially those employing women to entertain clients, never follow the night curfew is a fact that Mr Munde should have known for long in his capacity as the home minister. He should have also known that bar owners are able to flout rules only because they are allowed to do so by hisofficers.

And this is not the first time Munde has woken up to a reality rather late in the day. Throughout the killing spree that Mumbai witnessed in the past few months, Munde had rather cussedly maintained that law and order situation in the metropolis was under control. It took an unprecendented event of a shootout at the crowded Bandra station and an admonition by the chief minister to change his mind. And following his public admission on the law and order, it8217;s imperative now that he take some concrete steps. It would be a good idea to start with his relationship with the chief minister. Both have contradicted each other on vital issues for far too long. It8217;s time for the alliance partners to forget their differences and steer the government in the right direction. A lot has to be done to restore Mumbai police to its former glory. Closing down a couple of ladies bar just alone is not enough.