Bizman celebrates birthday on the roadside, arrested

A businessman defied the lockdown orders and celebrated his birthday on Saturday night on the roadside with his friends in Marathahalli. The police have arrested the businessman and are searching for his friends.

In his complaint, Pradeep Gowda, a sub-inspector with the HAL police station, said on Saturday, he was on patrol duty in his jurisdiction to ensure all commercial establishments were practising social distancing.

Around 7.45 pm, he received a message that a few people have gathered near the main road in Ashwath Nagar near Marathahalli and were having a birthday celebration. He reached the spot at 8 pm and found about nine to ten people were having a birthday bash. Some of them managed to escape on seeing the police, while they caught one man, named Sundar.

While questioning, Sundar confessed that it was his birthday and his friends from Mahadevapura and other places had gathered there to celebrate.

His friends who ran away are identified as Manikanta, Rahul, Lokesh, Rajesh, Madhu and others.

“Sundar is into local politics in the area and has a few followers. He admitted to celebrating his birthday on the road. They had even burst crackers and cut a cake before we reached the spot,” said an investigating officer.

Sundar and his friends have violated the lockdown order and Section 144 imposed across the city. So, the police have arrested him under IPC Sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 290 (punishment for public nuisance). Efforts are on to nab the others, the officer added.