Pune: A gambling operator and two accomplices were booked by Khadak police for selling liquor on Wednesday, declared as a dry day by the state government on account of Ganesh Chaturthi.
A patrol team of Khadak police was tipped off by an informer that two men were openly selling alcohol at a certain place in Shukrawar Peth, violating the ban. The team promptly raided the parking area of Raunak Bar, as identified by the informer, at around 6:45pm and seized a large stock of foreign and country-made alcohol and ₹1,10,405 in cash, and nabbed the two sellers, Vaibhav Vijay Dongre (26) and Gudukumar Bholakumar Kumar (26), both residents of Shukrawar Peth.
A case under relevant sections was registered at Khadak Police Station on the basis of a complaint filed by constable Ashish Chavan.
Police said that during interrogation of the accused, they revealed that the seized liquor stock belonged to a gambling operator. “When questioned, the accused said they were selling alcohol on a dry day on the instruction of gambling operator Nandu Naik. As liquor sale is prohibited on Ganesh Chaturthi, the act was a direct violation of law. A case has been registered against Naik and his henchmen, and further investigation is underway,” said assistant inspector Kuldeep Vhatkar from Khadak Police Station.