Pune, Jun 24 (PTI) The number of arrests in connection with a probe into a viral video allegedly from a Pune bar reached 14 on Monday evening after six waiters of the eatery were nabbed by the Maharashtra excise department, officials said.
Earlier, the police had arrested eight persons and suspended four personnel from the force after the bar was found operating beyond the permissible time limit.
The police had launched a probe after a viral video purportedly showed some persons with a drug-like substance at Liquid Leisure Lounge, also called L3, located on Fergusson College Road in Maharashtra’s Pune city.
The eight persons, identified as Santosh Kamthe, Vitthal Kamthe, Yogendra Girase, Ravi Maheshwari, Akshay Kamthe, Dinesh Mankar, Rohan Gaikwad, Manas Mallick, were remanded in police custody till June 29 by a court here, the official said.
Citing the viral video, the prosecution told court it has emerged through social media that the accused had given narcotic like substance to its patrons in the hotel and they want to probe the issue further.
Prima facie, it has been found that the accused used social media to invite patrons to the hotel to consume narcotics substances, alcohol and smoke cigarettes, the prosecution told court, adding police wants to probe further about these customers.
Police want to trace the youths as well as a minor seen in the viral video, it said in court.
Samples were collected from from the toilet L3 and sent for examination to check the presence of narcotic substance, police told court while seeking custody of the eight persons, including owners and staffers of the bar.
The samples were collected from the cover of the toilet commode as the video showed the persons, who were having drugs like substance, there, a Shivajinagar police station official confirmed.
Police also told court they want to send blood samples of the arrested persons for tests to find out if they had consumed drugs.
One of the accused, event manager Akshay Kamthe, had invited patrons to L3 through social media platforms and Whatsapp and had accepted entry fees through online and cash modes, which need to be probed further, police told court.
According to the police, the bar was operating till 5 am on Sunday and liquor was being sold beyond permissible time limit. Bars and pubs in Pune are allowed to remain open till 1.30 am.
Later in the evening, the state excise department said it had suspended the licence of Liquid Leisure Lounge (L3) and also arrested six waiters there for allegedly flouting liquor stock norms.
They have been arrested under provisions of Maharashtra Prohibition Act, and have been remanded in custody till June 29.
The prosecution told court large quantities of liquor was found in the bar and there was a possibility more was kept somewhere else, and this aspect needs further probe.
The total number of arrests in connection with the viral video reached 14, officials said.
“We have arrested eight persons, including owners and employees of the Liquid Leisure Lounge (L3) after it came to light that the establishment was operating beyond the permissible time limit on Sunday,” Pune Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar told PTI earlier in the day.
Those arrested have been booked under Indian Penal Code section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act, Maharashtra Prohibition Act, and the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, he said.
An inspector, an assistant inspector and two beat marshals from the Shivajinagar police station, who were on night duty, have been suspended in connection with the case, he said.
Earlier in the afternoon, members of right wing outfit Patit Pavan Sanghatana allegedly damaged the board of the bar, pelted stones at the bar and broke plant pots kept outside the establishment, a police official said.
Meanwhile, first time Pune MP and newly-appointed Union minister Murlidhar Mohol in a post on X said though the action of suspension has been taken immediately, the police commissioner has also been instructed to launch a dedicated drive against narcotics and depute separate manpower for it.
“All colleges, pubs, hotels and other suspicious places should be searched with strict action. Police have been instructed to go to the root to see how drugs are available in the city,” Mohol said. PTI SPK GK BNM
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