Video shows youths with drug-like substance during party at Pune bar; two cops suspended

Pune: Police have launched a probe and detained five persons after a viral video purportedly showed some people with a drug-like substance at a bar in Pune, an official said on Sunday.

Two policemen were also suspended after it came to light that the bar allowed a group of youngsters to party on its premises beyond permissible time, a senior official said.

A video widely shared on social media purportedly showed some youths sitting with a powdery substance, while many others dancing to loud music at the bar located on Fergusson College Road.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 1) Sandeep Singh Gill, five people have been detained over the matter and the process of registering a case was underway.

“Prima facie, an event organiser named Akshay Kamthe took 40 to 50 youths to the bar named L3 located at FC Road in Pune city for a late night party. He managed to get the main door of the bar closed and allowed the youths to enter from the backdoor,” the official said.

Police said the party started after 1.30 am, after the closing time for such joints, on Sunday and went on for the next few hours. Before having a blast at L3, the group had another party in the Hadapsar area, they said.

“The party at L3 was held flouting the rules. We are probing whether any narcotic substance was consumed in the party. Two police personnel of the Shivaji Nagar police station have been suspended (for lapses),” Gill said.

The incident comes in the wake of a crackdown by the Pune police on bars and lounges following the Porsche car crash that claimed the lives of two techies last month in the city’s Kalyani Nagar.

The minor son a builder was driving the Porsche after consuming alcohol at two joints when it fatally knocked down the two software professionals in the early hours of May 19, according to the Pune police.