The Pune rural police on Sunday night busted a drink and dance party on the outskirts of Pune that involved 489 youths, including 235 girls. The party was organised on the occasion of Friendship Day. While no drugs were found, the police has seized liquor bottles worth Rs 17,000 from the spot.
The police said that the party was organised at a bungalow in Theur village, around 30 km from Pune. The students, mostly from the Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS), were consuming alcohol and playing loud music without permission from the concerned authorities, said the police. The loud music from the party compelled the local residents to call the police, who raided the bungalow at 11.30 pm.
All the students were detained and sent for medical examinations. The police formally arrested eight organisers and 80 boys who were found to be under the influence of alcohol, while the rest were set free after being issued warnings. Interestingly, no girl student was charged as the police claimed that the girls did not consume alcohol. The revellers have been charged under various sections of The Bombay Prohibition Act.
Those arrested include the bungalow owner Chitaranjan Ashtekar and his sons Alok and Sushil who organised the party. “The villagers complained us about the loud music and nuisance created after which we conducted the raid,” said Pratap Dighavkar, superintendent of police, Pune rural. The 80 arrested youth were produced before a local court that granted them bail on a surety of Rs 2,000 each while the organisers were granted bail on a surety of Rs 10,000 each.
The institute has set up a committee to probe the incident.