Despite stringent measures to enforce prohibition laws, New Year’s Eve celebrations across Gujarat were far from sober. A significant number of revelers stumbled into 2024, only to be apprehended by the police for offenses ranging from alcohol consumption to drunk driving.
According to data collated from across the state, over 2,750 people were booked under the Gujarat Prohibition Act in the early hours of January 1. The highest number of offenses were recorded in Valsad (911), followed by Surat (655), Gir Somnath (289), Amreli (247), and Ahmedabad (228).
The police had made elaborate arrangements in all cities to curb prohibition-related offenses, with a heavy police presence in areas popular among revelers. However, the number of arrests in Valsad during the New Year celebrations remained under 1,000, a departure from previous years. The majority of the offenders were returning from Daman and Silvassa in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
In Surat district, the new year began with an unsavory record of 655 offenses across 33 police stations. Of these, 200 were cases of drunk driving and 455 were related to liquor consumption. Despite the deployment of 4,000 police personnel, 1,000 home guards, and 510 TRB jawans, Pandesara police station registered the most offenses in Surat city.
While 80 offenses were registered in Junagadh, 67 people in Rajkot and 23 in Jamnagar were booked for flouting the liquor ban. In Morbi district, 12 people found to be under the influence of alcohol were arrested.
The special drive in Ahmedabad saw the police force equip its teams with breathalyzers, interceptor vehicles, and drug-testing kits. The city police registered 167 cases of drinking and 61 cases of drunk driving between New Year’s Eve and the early hours of January 1.
Kheda, which recently made headlines for a hooch tragedy, registered 49 liquor-related offenses in the last week of 2023, with eight persons booked on New Year’s Eve alone. In Vadodara, 36 people were arrested for consuming liquor, and 23 people were arrested for ferrying country-made liquor.
Also Read: Abusing, following woman isn’t outraging her modesty: Bombay HC
