Gujarat: Police crackdown on alcohol on the eve of New Year

On New Year's Eve, several people were arrested under the prohibition law, with the Valsad district police filing 1,743 cases and the Ahmedabad city police submitting 211.

The police in Ahmedabad city arrested 214 people for violating the Prohibition Act. In addition, as part of the police crackdown ahead of the new year, 116 litres of country liquor, eight bottles and four quarters of Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), one beer tin, one car, and two scooters were seized.

Meanwhile, 123 FIRs have been filed under the Disaster Management Act, with 117 people accused of breaking the Covid-19 curfew and associated SOP. Sixty-one vehicles were seized under the Motor Vehicles Act, and the city police collected penalties totaling Rs 4.24 lakh.

Another 638 people were punished for not wearing masks and breaking other Covid standards, totaling Rs 6.38 lakh in fines.

On Saturday, teams from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation fined 167 people in the Ahmedabad city boundaries for not wearing masks, with the civic body collecting Rs 1.67 lakh in fines.

Similarly, under the Prohibition Act, Valsad district police filed 1,743 cases and arrested several people on New Year's Eve.

Since Thursday, the district police have arrested 2,578 persons for various violations of the law. Valsad police detained 835 people for drunken driving and possession of liquor bottles on Thursday night. All people who had been detained were brought before the court for further proceedings.

Similarly, on New Year's Eve, 1,743 people were arrested by the district police under various prohibition provisions. Among the total number of people arrested, 1,422 were found to be inebriated, 35 were discovered to be in possession of alcohol, and 211 were charged with drunken driving. This is on top of the 75 cases that the local crime branch has filed.

"This year, we thought people will not come to Daman and Silvassa due to the night curfew but we were shocked that a large number of people turned up. They even cooperated with the police. The number of arrests this year is higher than last year's. We have caught 2,578 people under various sections of the Prohibition Act," said Valsad Deputy Superintendent of Police MR Sharma. Last year, 1,560 people were booked under similar provisions.

Valsad is bordered by the Union territories of Daman and Silvassa, where the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages is legal, and hence attracts big crowds from South Gujarat and Central Gujarat on New Year's Eve.

In light of the Covid crisis, the Daman and Silvassa administrations imposed tight rules this year, cancelling all new year parties, even those held on open party plots and hotel rooftops. Due to the night curfew, all pubs and restaurants were closed at 11 p.m. The curfew was only lifted for emergency services.

Since Thursday, security has been stepped up in Valsad, with police officers stationed at 20 checkpoints and 22 medical teams on the scene.

123 people have been charged with drinking booze in the Anand district. In addition, 33 incidences of drunk driving were reported on Friday. Ajit Rajan, the superintendent of police in Anand, said, "(Our) focus area was drunken driving as it not only endangers the inebriated person but is also dangerous to pedestrians and other vehicles. Checking was done using breath analysers."