Dismissing charges that Bangalore police have begun moral policing by enforcing a dress code for girls working in bars, police commissioner Shankar Bidari on Friday said the department was ensuring that the girls were not exploited.

According to him, police were prompted to enforce a dress code for bar girls after they learnt that many girls were brought to Bangalore with false assurances. “Most of them are from North. The girls were assured that they would be event management hosts. When they came here, they found themselves working in bars. We rescued them and sent them back to Rajasthan,’’ Bidari said.