61 booked for illegal pool party, Covid violations

Noida Police on Sunday night booked 61 people allegedly found partying in violation of Covid-19 health protocols at a farmhouse in Sector 135

Noida Police on Sunday night booked 61 people allegedly found partying in violation of Covid-19 health protocols at a farmhouse in Sector 135.

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This is the third property in the area that has been raided within a week over breaking Covid-19 protocol.

According to police, they raided the property following a tip. Police found 46 men and 15 women there not wearing masks and using the swimming pool, which is banned. Most were university students from Delhi and the National Capital Region, they said.

“Those without masks were challaned at the spot and ₹6,100 was collected in fines,” said a police spokesperson.

The people were booked under sections 188 (disobeying public order) and 269 (negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Expressway police station. The people were let off on bail.

“They had booked the farmhouse for four hours for ₹20,000. We also recovered 12 beer and two liquor bottles from them that had been bought from Haryana,” said additional deputy commissioner of police, zone 1, Kumar Rannvijay.

Seven from the group were also booked under relevant sections of the excise act for illegally bringing liquor from another state.

Police officials said that the caretaker, Dharamveer, had already been booked the previous day for a similar offence when another farmhouse was raided, while the owner has been traced.

On the night of June 8, 16 people were apprehended for organising a birthday party in a high-rise. On Saturday night, 14 people from Delhi had been booked after they had rented a farmhouse for a night for ₹12,000.

Farmhouses in the Noida floodplains are infamous for illegal gatherings and parties specially for people from Delhi.

“Party goers feel that the area is secluded enough that they can get away with organizing such gatherings. They rent these places for nominal prices through online portals. We are planning on having a meeting with farmhouse owners in the area to discuss the problem with them and to aware them about the regulations specially regarding Covid-19. We will take serious action against them all in case of repeat offences,” said Singh.