Mumbai:
In what seems to be yet another Dhoble-like raid, a team led by Deputy Commissioner of Police Ravindra Shishve conducted a raid on a pub in Colaba in south Mumbai on early Saturday morning. Nearly 350 people were detained for an hour after the pub was found to be violating the deadline of 1:30 am. After a few of the detained people got agitated for being held by the police for no fault of theirs, the police took nearly 150 people, including 80 women, to the MRA Marg police station late at night to complete formalities. Many protested this move by the police and argument broke out following which chaos ensued at the police station.
Twenty people have been charged with misbehavior and booked under the Bombay Police Act. Two people are still wanted in the case registered by the police.
Police sources said, "Some of the patrons got agitated when they were taken to the police station for formalities to be completed and created chaos at the police station following which they have been booked under appropriate sections".
Earlier this year, the Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had promised a gathering of tour operators in Mumbai that there would be no problems of shutting bars and discotheques like they have been facing for the past few months. Assistant Commissioner of Police Vasant Dhoble of the social service branch had led a crackdown on bars and pubs and charged many people under the archaic Bombay Prohibition Act with former Commissioner of Police Arup Patnaik's blessings. However, when the Chief Minister was asked at if he was referring to Dhoble, the Chief Minister clarified this comment was not in respect to one individual. ACP Vasant Dhoble was transferred soon after Satyapal Singh took over as Mumbai's Commissioner of Police.
Party-goers in Mumbai have been complaining against police action, saying that they are harassed for no fault of theirs. In fact many sections of both the Bombay Prohibition Act and the Bombay Police Act are unknown to the public and often they end up being on the wrong side of the law. Citizens of Mumbai have appealed to the state to review archaic laws but the government is yet to act on it.