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Pune police raid pubs, restaurants; 14 persons booked
The outlets were found operating beyond the 1:30 am deadline, playing loud music and with customers dancing on the premises
Taking cognisance of a series of complaints from residents, Pune police, on Saturday, raided 14 pubs and restaurants in the city, booking 14 persons in the action.
According to officials, cases under different sections of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) and Bombay Police Act and Liquor Act have been registered.
Primarily, the outlets were found operating beyond the 1:30 am deadline, playing loud music and with customers dancing on the premises.
The 14 persons booked included owners, managers , service staff and one disc jockey (DJ).
The raids continued from midnight till 2.30 pm, said officials, adding that of the eight pubs raided, one was located in a 5 star hotel.
The House of Medici, Westin Park, Penthouze, Club Elrow, Unwind, FML Lounge in Mundhwa, and the Playboy and Cuba Libre in Hadapsar, faced police action.
The raid at the Playboy pub at 2.30 am revealed that apart from loud music and illegal liquor sales, the FL-3 licence of the establishment was in different name.
A total 147 of bottles estimated to be worth Rs 3.50 lakh and a case under the liquor act has been registered against three owners, two managers and three service staff here. A case under 33(w) has been registered against the DJ at the Chatushrungi Police Station.
The raid at the Lord of the Drinks pub, Kalyaninagar, also found music beyond the deadline and illegal liquor sales. A total of 49 bottles worth Rs. 1.16 lakh have been confiscated from Lord of the Drinks, with the owner, one manager and three service staff booked at Yerwada police station.
The third leg of the police raid took place under Bundgarden police station, where action was taken against five F&B outlets: 2 BHK pub (Kondhwa); Casino (Hapasar); Miller, Botanica and the Greenhouse Bar, all three at the Raja Bahadur Mills compound.
ACP Crime II Bhanupratap Barge said that the action was taken following complaints from citizens regarding deadline violations, loud music and a nuisance being created. “Action has been taken under the relevant sections of the Bombay Police Act, COTPA and Liquor act, under which violators have been booked. The violators have handed over to respective police stations for further investigation,” said Barge.
Ashok Morale, additional commissioner (Crime), said, “Appropriate action has been taken according to rules. Investigations have been handed over to the respective police stations where the establishments are located.”
The police team was led by ACP (Crime II) Bhanupratap Barge, API Ashwini Jagtap, PSI Satish Walke, constables Sunil Pawar, Sampate, Sakat, Vishal and Mauli Pawar.
Hinjewadi citizens want police to turn down the music
A group of senior citizens in Hinjewadi has approached the Wakad Police station with a written complaint against F&B outlets in the vicinity with a specific focus on bars and pubs.
Residents of Athashri Xion society state in the complaint that the music played at the establishments is “deafening and not contained within the premises”. The complaint has been signed by 13 senior citizens.
“On weekends, there is a big crowd of youngsters, as well as IT employees, who hang around till the wee hours of the morning. One pub is located on the fourth floor of the Xion business complex and plays very loud music. My society is next door and our requests have fallen on deaf ears,” says Ashok Gosavi from Aspiria society, which is in the immediate vicinity.
Parag Agarkar, a resident of Aspiria, says, “I have twice complained on the Aple Sarkar app. I received a call from the police station and informed them about the issue. The pub is on the rooftop and I live on sevent floor, with no other society in between. The pubs have valid licenses is what I was told and the complaint was closed. Music volume did reduce for 15 days, but then, it started again.”
The longest battle that residents have fought against pubs in the area is in Baner. where five outlets exist within one commercial complex.
Residents here have managed to reach an understanding with pub owners on music volume.
According to Sharan Shetty, Hoteliers Association of Pune, “ If the pubs/bars are located in a commercial area and have proper documentation and proper police permission in place there is no reason for any complaint. They also have to have a proper parking space which is of utmost importance. As for music, every pub/bar has to maintain its audio level, but in certain places, due to demand of people, the music is cranked up, which is not allowed in reality. Pubs should follow rules and also support police.”
Koregaon Park police have plaint in writing
Resident complaints against late-night bars and lounges have once again surfaced in Koregaon Park; the hub of the pub culture in Pune.
Anyaneya Sharma, secretary of a prominent residential society, in his written complaint to the Koregaon Park police station, dated June 10, 2019, said that with schools and colleges re-opening for the new academic year music and dancing post-midnight was causing a serious public nuisance in the area.
The complaint also states, on record, that despite repeated phone calls to the police, they failed to take action.
However, Koregaon Park police station incharge, Madan Bahadarpure, said, “We don’t have any pub registered under our area.”
Parag Anand is the owner of lounge bars in Koregaon Park and Hinjewadi. He says, “It’s all barren land in Hinjewadi phase next to my outlet. There are no residential buildings near us. There are some sound issues in Koregaon park, but we are always low on sound. Though there were issues with sound earlier, we resolved, and have maintained it.”
