Did the ‘Tonic n Club’ management fail to pay ‘mamool’ to the local
police? Even as the police raided the pub and took at least 78
participants of a birthday bash into custody and arrested six others
belonging to the management on Sunday, a few pub and lounge owners
openly admitted to running their trade right under the nose of the
police. It is also reported that the police raided the Tonic n Club
after the management refused to pay them the ‘mamool’. The manager
of a posh pub in the city told Express that cops get their mamool to
allow the pubs to run their activities beyond the stipulated time. “Only
after offering mamool to the local police, we allow participants to go
ahead with special parties. Otherwise, we will incur losses,’’ he said. According
to sources, pub managements offer around Rs 20,000 to the local police
station every week. What’s more, they also pay at least Rs 10,000 per
day as mamool to the police when pubs allow customers for special
parties. A sub-inspector of a city police station disclosed on
condition of anonymity that managements of various pubs and lounges
offer attractive sums to the entire staff on a weekly basis. “The
quantum of payment depends on the occasion,’’ he added. When the
issue was raised before DCP Stephen Ravindra, he expressed anger pub
managements for claiming that they were offering mamools to the police. The DCP said that the police were trying to ascertain whether the participants had liquor or not. Ayesha
Khan, who flew in to the city from Dubai to attend the party, alleged
that the police took the participants into custody only for the sake of
mamools. “Are city pubs prohibited zones?’’ she asked. She also alleged
that the police manhandled women to force them into confessing the
offence. She said more than 50 participants did not consume liquor. Meanwhile, parents of the participants in the bash, requested the police over the phone to let off their children.
By Mouli Mareedu
moulimareedu@gmail.com
