The Pune police on Tuesday detained two people from Mumbai accused of allegedly consuming drugs at a city-based pub even as Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde reiterated his commitment to “make the city drug-free”, stating that he had directed the police to crack down and bulldoze illicit pubs and hotels.
Earlier, following a viral video clip from a bar on Pune’s Fergusson College Road called Liquid Leisure Lounge or ‘L3’, the police arrested eight people including an event organiser, while four police personnel were suspended for negligence after the bar was found to be operating well beyond the permissible time limit of 1.30 a.m.
Additionally, the Maharashtra excise department has suspended two of its inspector-rank officers for alleged dereliction of duty.
Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said that authorities had detained two persons from Mumbai who were seen in the viral video with the drug-like substance.
Speaking to reporters today evening, CM Eknath Shinde said he had ordered the Pune Police Commissioner to take stern action to make the city drug-free.
“Pune is our city of culture and tradition and home to great personalities. And in such a city, if the young generation is falling prey to drugs, then stern and urgent action is needed to put a halt to such nefarious activities. This is destroying the future of these youths besides causing great anguish to their parents. Such illicit hotels and pubs who are brazenly flouting norms will henceforth be razed by bulldozers, be it in Pune or anywhere else in the State,” Mr. Shinde said.
He warned against any negligence on part of authorities or attempts to shield the accused pub owners would be met with serious consequences.
“Be it any vendor or supplier of drugs to such establishments, I have given clear instructions for the police to throw them in jail,” he said.
Following the CM’s order, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials, along with the police, swung into action and reached the L3 bar location with a view to demolish it.
While part of the outdoor seating area was razed, the interior was not demolished following protests from owners who claimed they were unaware of the event organizer (now in police custody) who brought in youths for a late-night revelry.
Sources said that Excise Department officials seized more than 200 litres of foreign liquor and other materials valued at ₹3 lakh from the L3 bar besides suspending its license. The police have collected samples from the toilet in L3 and sent them for an examination to check for the presence of a narcotic substance.
Other partial demolitions commenced on pubs and restaurants along Fergusson College road as well.
Meanwhile, the Pune District Collector has directed civic authorities in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad to come up with a list of illegal bars and pubs under the jurisdiction of the Pune Excise Department.
Illicit bars and flouting of norms have come under the scanner following the Pune luxury car incident last month wherein an inebriated 17-year-old, after a night of pub crawling, crashed his car into a motorbike, killing two young IT professionals.
The ruling Shinde-led Mahayuti coalition, which suffered a major jolt in the Lok Sabha election, is keen on preserving a ‘clean image’ ahead of a critical State Assembly election later this year given that the opposition MVA is attempting to corner the government over ‘rampant drug culture’ in Pune and elsewhere in the State.
Shinde Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat said the CM’s action ordering outright demolition of pubs and bars “was a bold one”, the rival Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut alleged that Pune and Nashik had been “overwhelmed by drug culture” and “was going the way of Punjab”.
