Four held for serving Haryana liquor without licence at Noida farmhouse party

According to excise department rules, in order to serve alcohol at a party held anywhere in Gautam Budh Nagar, an occasional bar licence is issued for ₹11,000, and only liquor made for sale in Uttar Pradesh can be served

The Gautam Budh Nagar excise department on Wednesday night conducted a search at a farmhouse in Noida’s Sector 135, where a party was underway, and arrested four persons for illegally serving liquor which was made for sale in Haryana only, said excise officers, adding that the party organisers had not procured the occasional bar licence from the department either.

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According to excise department rules, in order to serve alcohol at a party held anywhere in Gautam Budh Nagar, an occasional bar licence is issued for ₹11,000, and only liquor made for sale in Uttar Pradesh can be served, said senior officers. The owner of the farmhouse has also been booked by the police, they added.

According to Subodh Kumar, district excise officer, a family gathering of over 25 people was taking place at the farmhouse on Wednesday night.

“We received information that alcohol is being served at the party in violation of excise department rules. A joint team of the excise department and Expressway police station carried out a search at the venue and found that the organisers had not procured an occasional bar licence to serve alcohol. Moreover, they were found serving liquor made for sale in Haryana only,” said Kumar.

He added that the catering and alcohol serving were being managed by an event management firm.

“We arrested four persons, the event manager Rahul Kasana,29, a resident of New Defence Colony in Ghaziabad, and his three staffers -- Suraj Singh,35, from Sahibabad in Ghaziabad, Bakul Agarwal, 25, from Shahadra in Delhi, and Rahul Kumar, 25, from Sagarpur in Delhi. An FIR has been registered against six people, including the farmhouse owner Pooja Jain and liquor shop licensee Monu Bhati, under relevant sections of the Excise Act, “ said Kumar.

The excise department seized 54 bottles of foreign made liquor and 18 bottles of beer from the spot, he added.

Shakti Avasthy, additional deputy commissioner of police (Noida), said, “The seized liquor is estimated to be worth around ₹70,000.Four persons who were arrested from the spot have been sent to judicial custody after being produced before the magistrate.”

A representative of the farmhouse said, “We had rented out the property for a party on Thursday night. The event was organised by a private firm. We received information that illegal alcohol was served in the party. The event organiser was responsible for this, and we had no role in it.”

Ahead of the wedding season, the excise department has also sent out notices to wedding halls, community halls and residents’ welfare associations, reminding them to acquire the occasional bar licence from the department before serving alcohol at any party or social gathering.

“We also held a meeting on Thursday evening with RWAs to educate and make them aware about excise rules. They were also informed that in case of a violation, organisers are held responsible,” he said.

The RWA representatives were told about the toll free number -- 8882120733 -- on which they can call and inform the excise department about any violation, said Kumar.