BHUBANESWAR : Police have arrested a club manager for allegedly assaulting two senior Excise officials after they confronted him for running the facility beyond the stipulated time, during a raid over Valentine’s Day celebrations on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.
The accused Awinash Sahoo, manager of the Mad Mule Club, was apprehended on Sunday. He was booked under section 132 (assaulting or using criminal force against a public servant to deter him/her from discharging duties), 221 (obstructing a public servant while discharging duties), 223 (disobedience of order issued by public servant), 351(2) (intimidation), 351(3) (intimidation by threatening to cause death or grievous hurt) and 3(5) (common intention) of the BNS.
On receiving information that the pub was operating beyond the permitted business hours i.e. 12 am, Excise SP Debashish Patel and DSP Raj Sekhar Swain visited the spot at around 1.15 am and noticed around 100 customers including couples still present there.
When the two officials confronted Sahoo for running the pub beyond the stipulated time, the latter along with other staff had a heated exchange with them. A few customers too joined the club’s staff and allegedly misbehaved with the Excise officials. On being informed, the local police arrived at the club and assisted the Excise officials in vacating the customers from the facility.
The Excise officials sealed the club and lodged a complaint in this regard with Kharavela Nagar police. “The CCTV footage is being examined to ascertain if other staff or any customer misbehaved with the Excise officials. Further action will be taken accordingly,” said an officer of Kharavela Nagar police station.