Archdiocese accepts apology from owner of Goregaon Social, but Watchdog Foundation says that they will still try to shut the bar down by investigating whether it had requisite permits
Watchdog Foundation trustee Godfrey Pimenta watches on as workers make finishing touches to the new window panes that replaced the “blasphemous” stained windows. Pic/Sameer Markande
A day after the hipster bar Goregaon Social came into controversy for using Catholic iconography and symbols in the décor, the owner’s apology was accepted by the Archdiocese of Bombay. Forgiveness will not come as easy from others, however.
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After filing an FIR against the bar on Wednesday, Watchdog Foundation trustees Godfrey Pimenta and Nicholas Almeida are now planning to dig deeper and find out whether the pub had all permissions and licences in place before becoming operational.
Hours after the duo pointed out the pub’s stained glass windows with “blasphemous” depictions of Jesus, Mother Mary, Moses and other Christian icons, the offending images were taken down. However, the activists continue to demand that the bar be shut down altogether.
'Who permitted this?'
“To run any restaurant or pub, one needs to have at least 40 different approvals in place. We want to know whether there were or are certain lacunae in the permissions and approvals obtained by the restaurant. If government departments issued licences in spite of these lacunae, then they too are abettors of the crime. And if these approval and permissions were not in place, then how was the pub allowed to function?” said Pimenta.
“We are filing RTIs with the BMC, state excise department, police department, building proposal authorities and the fire brigade, and are in the process of building a watertight case before approaching the Ward Officer,” he added.
Pimenta also questioned that if the pub was inspected by various government departments and their respective officers, how come no one raised objections to the offensive decor inside? “If they saw these kind of visuals inside, why did they not object and still go ahead and provide licences? As a government authority, they have an obligation to inform the police. We will pursue this case to its logical end.”
'This is our case'
Almeida said that even though the Archdiocese has accepted the owner’s apology, they had no intention of backing down.
“He (the owner) must have written to the cardinal/archbishop asking for forgiveness, but it is my FIR, and my case. This act has hurt my religious sentiments, which is why I filed the case,” said Almeida, demanding that the bar’s licence be revoked.
The Archdiocese too conveyed to mid-day that since it was “not party to the FIR, it wishes to keep a distance from this issue.”
BJP joins in
Meanwhile, the BJP’s Mumbai unit too has joined the bandwagon of protesters. Mumbai chief Ashish Shelar yesterday met BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta and demanded that the bar’s licence be revoked for hurting religious sentiments. “I have even asked BMC chief to probe whether the licence issuing authorities of the civic body had done their job properly or not? If there are lapses then action should be initiated against the civic officials too,” Shelar added.
Prakash Patil, deputy municipal commissioner (special) and in-charge of the licence department, said, “If the police or court find anything offensive and direct us to revoke the licence of that particular pub, we can take action. In such cases, the local licence department officer takes a call.”
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