Police arrested 20 people in Ahmedabad after raiding a farm on the outskirts of the Gujarat city for allegedly consuming alcohol during a party, an official said on Saturday.
Police initially arrested 15 people from the scene of the alleged party, including 13 African students, out of 70 people present. Later, during the early hours of Saturday morning, five more people were caught, including two smugglers and the owner of the farm.
This took the number of arrests in connection with the party to 20, Superintendent of Police (SP), Ahmedabad-Rural, Om Prakash Jat told reporters.
The alleged booze party took place in Gujarat, which is supposed to be a “dry state”, meaning the sale or consumption of alcohol is prohibited.
What will the investigation reveal?
According to the preliminary investigation, the party with alcohol in Ahmedabad was organized in the garb of meeting of African students. They all study at various colleges and universities in a state where the sale or consumption of alcohol is prohibited.
What did the police say?
Police arrived at the scene after receiving a tip about the availability of alcohol at the event.
They purchased tickets for the event and entered in civilian clothes to nab the culprits, Jat said.
“Acting on a specific tip-off, police teams raided a farm in the city’s Shilai area and arrested 15 persons, including 13 African nationals, in a drunken state. These African nationals are studying in various universities in the state, including Gujarat University,” he told reporters.
During their raids, police found 51 bottles of Indian foreign liquor and 15 hookahs (water pipes used to smoke specially made tobacco mixtures), which are also banned in Gujarat, Jat reported.
“The meeting was intended for African students and was organized by a Kenyan student. Ticket prices for the event ranged from ₹700 to ₹25,000. A liquor party was held at the farmhouse in the garb of a reunion. However, we did not find any narcotic substance during the raid,” he added.
Who are the arrested people?
According to Jat, 13 of the 20 people arrested in connection with the alcohol-fuelled party in Ahmedabad are African students. Most of the students are from Kenya, while some are from the Comoros, Madagascar and Mozambique, according to police.
Among the five others arrested on Saturday were two local smugglers named Anant Kapil and Ashish Jadeja. The owner of the farmhouse, Milan Patel, was also arrested, the SP said.
The arrested have been booked under relevant sections of the Gujarat Prohibition Act and under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for hatching a criminal conspiracy, the officer said.
Further investigation is underway in this matter.
