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Over 230 held in Ahmedabad for alcohol-related offences during New Year’s Eve
Ahmedabad Police arrested 238 for alcohol offences on New Year's Eve, enforcing Gujarat's strict prohibition laws amid large celebrations.
Ahmedabad City Police arrested 238 people for alcohol-related offences during New Year’s Eve celebrations on December 31, officials said on Thursday.
Gujarat is a dry state under the Gujarat Prohibition Act, 1949. The Act bans the manufacture, sale, purchase, possession, transport, and consumption of alcohol. Penalties include fines and imprisonment, with up to ten years in jail for certain offences. A limited exception exists in GIFT City for business purposes, but the ban applies across most of the state, including Ahmedabad. Additional exceptions allow certain categories of residents and visitors to obtain permits for limited consumption. Authorised hotels sell liquor only to valid permit holders for private consumption, public consumption is prohibited.
In all, 246 cases related to alcohol were registered — 123 for liquor consumption with 123 arrests, 54 for possession of Indian-Made Foreign Liquor with 54 arrests, and 69 for drunk driving under Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act with 61 arrests, said officials.
The force deployed 9,040 personnel, including five joint or additional commissioners of police, 16 deputy commissioners, 28 assistant commissioners, 115 police inspectors, 225 police sub-inspectors, 5,000 head constables or police constables, two state reserve police companies and 3,500 home guards, according to a department press release.
Large crowds gathered at Sabarmati Riverfront, Sardar Patel Ring Road, CG Road in Navrangpura, SG Highway, Sindhu Bhavan Road and other areas to celebrate. People celebrated at churches, main markets, shopping malls, clubs, hotels, farmhouses and private party plots.
Resources included nine Quick Response Teams, 443 breath analysers, 39 speed gun cameras, 34 cranes, 123 emergency response vehicles, four Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad teams, 71 She Teams, 63 checkpoints, 14 outposts, 2,560 body-worn cameras with 238 live feeds, and more than 4,000 CCTV cameras. All patrol vehicles and hawk bikes from police stations were used. Vehicle checks took place at 14 inter-district checkpoints and 63 barricades.
Police also seized 107 vehicles for other violations such as missing registration or licences. The operations focused on road safety and law enforcement throughout the night.
