Is ‘mamool’ the reason behind raids on pubs?

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