Pune: Skewers restaurant owner booked for illegal sale of liquor, violating COVID-19 norms

Pune: Pimpri-Chinchwad police have booked three people on charges of illegal sale of liquor at hotel Skewers located on the Maan Road in Hinjawadi. Police have seized cash, mobiles, tab and liquor bottles from the hotel, all worth Rs 28,000.

The three persons booked have been identified as Ganesh Narsingsa Dalbhanjan (40), a resident of Rohan Kritika on Sinhagad Road; Nipesh Indraprakash Roy (35), originally from Darjeeling in West Bengal and Suresh Govind Thapa (30), residing in Hinjawadi. Police said, Dalbhanjan owns and operates the hotel while Roy works as a manager and Thapa works as a cashier at the hotel.

Police constable Marutrao Shyamrao Jadhav (32) posted at the Social Security Cell of Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissionerate has filed the complaint. The trio has been booked on charges of violating COVID-19 norms too.

According to police, Dalbhanjan and his staff served liquor to their customers without obtaining any license and permission. Also, the hotel owner and its staff did not follow the COVID-19 guidelines at the establishment and put human lives at risk by acting irresponsibly about spreading the infection.

The trio has been charged under Disaster Management Act, 2005 section 51(b) (refusing to comply with any directions given by government or district authority) Maharashtra Covid-19 Act 2020 section 11, Epidemic Diseases Act section 3 and Maharashtra Prohibition Act, 1949 section 65 (e) (sell or buy or possess any intoxicant) and 83 (Penalty for conspiracy) and section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of any dangerous disease) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.