But what he saw on the midnight of November 10 sobered up even the most brazen bar owner in Mulund. It also got Traffic Inspector S D Pawar suspended and Deputy Commissioner of Police Dalbir Bharti (Mulund-Bhandup) and Police Inspectors Tikaji Rasam (Bhandup) and D Y Thorat (Vikhroli) transferred. No, all is not well with the Mumbai police, he realised.

Munde's surprise visit to Mulund, Bhandup and Vikroli followed a birthday party thrown by Bharatiya Janata Party city unit President Kirit Somaiya for his son. Having dispensed with the formalities, he set off with Somaiya for a night on the town, to the permit rooms which have given these eastern suburbstheir unsavoury reputations.

Not only were the bars open till well over the midnight deadline stipulated by the Bombay Police Act; some were open till the wee hours, packed with inebriated patrons, he found.

At his first stop in Mulund, the home minister found the bar was apparently shut. However, a peep through the kitchen door revealed that backdoor business was unusually brisk. Wrose, most of the bars and restaurants in the Mulund-Bhandup-Vikroli belt use the `closed' sign as an open invitation for patrons waiting to step into the the back entrance. Disturbed by the wanton disregard for the law, especially in the light of the ongoing crime wave in the city, Munde summoned the zonal deputy commissioner of police, Dalbir Bharti, to the `scene of crime'. His two and a half hour wait proved futile.

But the party was not over yet. At the Mulund checkpost, the home minister had his motorcade held up by a traffic jam caused by scores of heavy-duty vehicles parked there illegally. He immediately summonedAdditional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) S P S Yadav and demanded an an explanation. He has also asked Commissioner of Police R H Mendonca to execute his transfer and suspension orders with immediate effect.

Mendonca, who told Newsline that a meeting was held at Munde's residence today to discuss the law and order situation, says he is awaiting a report from the additional commissioner of police of the zone concerned. ``Along with Munde's surprise visit, we also discussed other issues,'' the commissioner revealed. DCP Dalbir Bharti says he is not aware of the suspension order against him.