Two people, including a prominent businessman, were arrested after liquor cans were recovered from a vehicle parked near a hotel in Surat, where a lavish birthday party was being held to celebrate the businessman’s birthday earlier this week in the dry state of Gujarat.
According to sources, the party at KS Avtaar Hotel in Althan was organised to celebrate businessman Sameer Shah’s birthday. During the celebrations, Sameer’s 19-year-old son was allegedly seen drinking alcohol with a few others inside a car stationed near the premises, NDTV reported.
Acting on a tip-off, a police team reached the spot and began recording a video of the group consuming liquor. The teenager, reportedly under the influence, got out of the vehicle and began misbehaving with the officers. A video of the incident, which has since gone viral, shows him shoving and manhandling policemen.
Businessman Threatens Police
As police managed to restrain him, his father, Sameer Shah, arrived and allegedly tried to pacify the officers while threatening them with his “connections at the top”, sources said. Around this time, two women also appeared at the scene and pleaded with the police to release the teenager, calling him “a child”.
Police said they recovered nine liquor cans worth Rs 1,350, seven mobile phones and some cash from the vehicle. The car, which bore an “L” sticker indicating a learner’s licence, was seized.
Zone 4 Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Nidhi Thakur confirmed to NDTV that two separate cases had been filed, one for liquor possession and the other for assaulting police personnel.
“The man who supplied the liquor has been arrested. Sameer was also arrested after the delivery man stated that he acted at the businessman’s behest,” DCP Thakur said.
She added, “Sameer’s son did not clear the breath analyser test. His blood and urine samples have been sent for examination. He faces the second case related to the assault on the police. We are assessing whether a notice needs to be issued or an arrest made.”