Car-o-bar: 50 held in Connaught place for drinking inside cars

All 50 accused were booked under Delhi Excise Act, and their cases were forwarded to the court. The accused are liable to pay a fine of ₹5,000.

Patrons of Delhi’s notorious car-o-bars in Connaught Place were in for a surprise as police teams spoiled the party and booked as many 50 people from different blocks of the popular shopping arcade on Thursday night.

New Delhi, India - Nov. 22, 2021: A view of clear sky seen from Connaught Place, in New Delhi, India, on Monday, November 22, 2021. (Photo by Raj K Raj / Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

All 50 accused were booked under Delhi Excise Act, and their cases were forwarded to the court. The accused are liable to pay a fine of Rs,5000, said a senior police officer aware of the Thursday police operation.

Police teams of 4-5 members each conducted a surprise check on Thursday evening as the local police station were getting frequent complaints about people drinking in the open or inside cars and creating a ruckus, the officer said.

Sharing details of the raid, the officer said, personnel from the Connaught Place police station in plain clothes started doing rounds of parking lots in the inner circle, looking for suspicious vehicles. The teams kept checking the parking lots every two hours until midnight.

Police records showed that of the 50 arrested persons, 45 were aged below 50; 42 of them were Delhi residents, and 8 were NCR cities. The officers said nearly half of them had come from offices located around Connaught Place.

Police did not share names of the arrested persons as the offence is cognizable. All have been told to appear to a court next week.

Police said they will conduct such surprise checks and file cases twice or thrice every week to curb open drinking in Connaught Place.

Atul Bhargava, president of the National Delhi Traders Association, said action was necessary to stop people from drinking in the open at Connaught Place. “There should be a fear of the law. If 100 people were drinking yesterday, the number will definitely come down to 50 today. The problem of car-o-bar is more common outside eateries in CP. People collect their food from the dhabas(eateries) and drink in the open. It is a nuisance to shoppers.”

Bhargava said the traders are assisting the police in the drive to ensure a complete stop to the practice of drinking illegally in Connaught Place.