96 women illegally engaged to dance in bars rescued

The bars did not have permission to engage women for dancing, police said.

"The women are from West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Mumbai, Punjab, Haryana and Odisha. They were released after verification of their identities," said Bhubaneswar Deputy Commissioner of Police Anup Kumar Sahu said.

Separate police teams raided 11 bars in Laxmi Sagar and Cuttack Road areas on Friday night and rescued the women.

Former excise superintendent Sudarshan Nayak, however, said the bars may conduct dance programmes on special occasions, but with due permission.