Liquor party busted near Ahmedabad: Bail pleas of 18 accused rejected, 2 sent to police custody for a day

Bopal Police had arrested 20 out of the 70 gathered at Zephyr Stays Farm House on October 24 for illegal consumption of liquor and booked them under the Prohibition Act.

The 20 people included 15 attendees and five organisers. Of the 20, 13 were foreign nationals – nine from Kenya and one each from Botswana, Comoros, Mozambique and Madagascar. Among the Indians, one each was from Rajasthan and Assam and five from Gujarat.

On October 25, the police received a two-day remand of five accused persons including two alleged bootleggers, one hookah supplier, the premise owner and a Kenyan national who had allegedly organised the party. The other 15 persons had been sent to judicial custody at the Sabarmati Central Jail as the court had listed their matter as “kept for hearing” for Monday.

On Monday, all 20 persons were produced in court. Bopal Police inspector BT Gohil said they had sought further remand of the two alleged bootleggers, reasoning that they required “more time to reach the source of the liquor”. The court has granted a one-day remand of both the accused. “The bail applications of the other 18 accused persons were rejected by the court and so they were sent back to judicial custody,” said Gohil.

While usually a bailable offence, the accused persons continue to remain in jail in this case due to the amount of illicit liquor allegedly recovered and seized by the police. Speaking on this, Gohil said, “When the amount of liquor seized from a mehfil (party) is above 20 litres, it is a non-bailable offence.”

The Bopal Police had seized 29 bottles of liquor of different brands with a total value of Rs 52,050 and 22 cans of beer worth Rs 3,960 from the spot.

Bopal Police said further investigation is underway to reach the source of the illegal liquor supplied at this party.

The police had managed to infiltrate the party by managing to secure passes for four staff members. They had them added to a closed WhatsApp group where details of the party’s time and place were provided. Subsequently, several teams of the Ahmedabad Rural Police reached the spot, raided the premises and arrested those found “drunk”.

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