Liquor party busted in Gujarat

Police raided a farmhouse on the outskirts of Ahmedabad and arrested 15 persons, including 13 African nationals, for allegedly consuming liquor during a party. Five more individuals, including bootleggers and the farmhouse owner, were later held, an official said on Saturday.

Out of nearly 70 people present at the venue, 15, including 13 African students, were found drunk during the late-night raid on Friday at the farmhouse in the Shilaj area and were taken into custody, the official said.

Five others, including two bootleggers and the farmhouse owner, were arrested in the early hours of Saturday, taking the total number of those held to 20, Superintendent of Police (SP) Ahmedabad (Rural), Om Prakash Jat, told reporters.

A preliminary probe revealed that the liquor party had been organised under the guise of a get-together for African students studying in various colleges and universities in Gujarat, where the sale and consumption of alcohol is banned, Jat said.

After receiving a tip-off about liquor being served at the event, police personnel purchased entry passes and entered the venue in plain clothes, he said.

During the raid, police recovered 51 bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor and 15 hookahs (waterpipes used to smoke flavoured tobacco), which are also banned in Gujarat, Jat added.

While most of the foreign students were from Kenya, others hailed from Comoros, Madagascar and Mozambique, according to police. Those arrested later included two local bootleggers — Anant Kapil and Ashish Jadeja — and farmhouse owner Milan Patel, the SP said.

Those arrested were booked under relevant sections of the Gujarat Prohibition Act and under the BNS for criminal conspiracy, he said.