Gujarat police arrested a prominent businessman and his 19-year-old son earlier this week after recovering liquor cans from a vehicle parked near a hotel in Surat.
According to media reports, the police were raiding a high-profile party held to celebrate the birthday of businessman Sameer Shah when his teenage son got into a brawl with the police personnel.
Notably, Gujarat is a dry state, i.e. sale and consumption of liquor is not permitted.
Watch the viral video here:
A video of the incident went viral on social media. In the video, the 19-year-old can be seen getting out of the car and trying to snatch the phone of a police official before he was restrained.
After the police arrested the teenager, wearing a green shirt, and his father, who is dressed in black formals, the businessman and his wife were seen intervening and trying to pacify the police.
Here’s what happened:
According to media reports, citing Surat DCP Nidhi Thakur, the police had received information about liquor being consumed at a party in a hotel, and alcohol being brought in a car outside the building.
Thakur said that the police also got a tip-off that there were several high-profile attendees at the party, and subsequently arrested the teen and his father, Sameer Shah.
The party was attended by around 200 people, but it was not known whether all of them were drunk, Nidhi Thakur said.
What did the police seize?
Surat police team confiscated a carton of liquor bottles, along with a mobile phone and a car. They said that the seized items during the raid at Shah’s party amount to ₹3.16 lakh.
Was the teenager drunk?
According to media reports, the 19-year-old was not drunk. It was confirmed after the police gave him a breathalyser.
Why was the teenager arrested?
Even though the 19-year-old was not drunk, police arrested Shah’s son because alcohol was found in his car.