The Gujarat Police on late Thursday night busted a high-profile booze party and arrested former Chairman of Indian Premier league (IPl) and leading industrialist Chirayu Amin along with 260 other elites of the State cultural capital Vadodara from a farmhouse situated 12 km on the outskirts of the city.
They have recovered 103 bottles of liquor and 113 of beer worth `1,28,950 from the spot, inform a police official aading that many men and women appeared inebriated and so they were taken to hospital in Baroda to collect their blood samples to verify presence of alcohol in their body.
“We have filed two FIRs, a non-bailable one against the farmhouse owner and his son under the sections of the new Prohibition law which has provision of 10 years jail term for keeping and distributing liquor. Another FIR under section related to consumption of liquor has also been filed against 127 men and 134 women, including two British citizens,” said Saurabh Tolambiya, SP, Vadodara.
As per the new provision of prohibition law in the State, consuming liquor is now punishable with up to three years in jail.
The police also seized 90 vehicles worth over `18 crore from the venue of the party held to celebrate the forthcoming marriage of farmhouse owner Jeetendra Shah’s granddaughter. Shah and his son Abhay are now being interrogated and will be produced in a court for remand, Tolambiya said.
All the men arrested at night were given bail on personal bond from Taluka police station as per legal provisions (the maximum punishment for the offence being seven years ). The women present at the party were, however, not arrested in the night and were given bail immediately. The blood samples too have been sent to Forensic Science laboratory in Gandhinagar for further tests.
later, addressing the media in State capital Gandhinagar on Friday, Pradeepsinh Jadeja, Minister of State for Home, said that the State Government is serious about strictly implementing the prohibition in Gujarat.
“I congratulate police for carrying out successful raid at the party and work towards strict implementation of prohibition law,” Jadeja said.
“Those present at the party may be big names in economic world but police will not come under any pressure whilst acting against those found guilty of violating prohibition law.”
He also issued covert warning to organisers of parties in club houses or farmhouses in the forthcoming festive season of Christmas and New Year eve to desist from serving liquor.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress party launched attack on the BJP-ruled State Government saying that the entire episode at Baroda was nothing but an eyewash. Gujarat Congress spokesman Manish Doshi said that
prohibition was just on paper and one can easily arrange liquor anywhere in the State by paying money.