Bhubaneswar rooftop bar fire: ‘Rs 500 to PCR, Rs 6,000 to BMC’ entries in outlet’s ledger trigger corruption concerns

Fresh questions have emerged over what was allegedly operating inside ‘No Limit’, the rooftop restaurant in Bhubaneswar’s Satya Vihar, where a major fire broke out on Friday morning. While the establishment was officially registered as a restaurant, locals allege that liquor and hookah were being served illegally inside the premises, despite having no licence for alcohol sales and no permission under excise rules for hookah service.

According to sources, the outlet No Limit did not possess the mandatory approvals required to operate as a bar. Despite this, reports suggest that liquor sales and hookah service were running routinely, triggering questions about how the establishment continued operations without regulatory scrutiny.

In a significant development, OTV accessed exclusive documents that shed light on how the outlet allegedly managed to run its activities without interruption. The documents include a handwritten ledger that purportedly lists regular cash payments made to various officials from different departments, including the BMC and the local police.

The ledger shows entries of amounts ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 2,000, allegedly given periodically. The absence of any official tokens, receipts, or bills for these payments has raised further suspicion regarding the nature and purpose of these transactions.

As per the ledger allegedly mentions Rs 500 being paid to the PCR van, while Rs 6,000 was paid to BMC officials.

Key questions now under the scanner include:

* Why were such cash payments made by the restaurant management?

* Why were officials accepting amounts without bills?

* How was an establishment with no excise permissions was allegedly running liquor and hookah services uninterruptedly?

Also Read: Rooftop bar inferno in Bhubaneswar raises questions on fire safety compliance after Goa nightclub tragedy

The fire incident has intensified scrutiny over enforcement lapses, possible collusion, and regulatory oversight failures.