PUNE: The Kondhwa police late on Tuesday night booked former minister Ramesh Bagwe’s son, Baker, his manager and 22 others on the charge of disobedience and violating Covid-19 curbs at his restaurant-cum-bar ‘The Village’ at the Bramha Majestic commercial complex on NIBM Road. A police team, which reached the eatery around 11.30pm, found 22 people dining inside the facility in gross violation of the prevailing state rules, which disallow dine-in service and allow only take-away food parcel service between 7am and 11pm. Apart from operating beyond the 11pm deadline, the facility had failed to regulate the crowd and maintain social distancing norms, police said. Both, Ramesh Bagwe, a former minister of state for home, and Baker denied the police claim and maintained that four to five of the 22 people were acquaintances, who were there to meet Baker and were sitting at a table, and the remaining people were waiting for their parcels. “We are operating with far less staff. Preparation of parcels takes time. We have to arrange for customers to sit while they wait for their parcels,” said Ramesh Bagwe. Pune police commissioner Amitabh Gupta said, “Our action is as per the law and whatever more (stringent) action is required to be taken we will take after we complete our probe.” The police swung into action after a video clip of the proceedings at the eatery owned by Baker went viral on social media. “We received information from some people that customers were dining at the eatery. When we visited the spot, we found 22 people dining. We collected their names, apart from that of the restaurant owner and the manager, and filed an FIR on Wednesday,” senior inspector Sardar Patil of the Kondhwa police said. “All the 24 people are being served notices for their impending prosecution before the court,” he said. For now, the police have booked the 24 persons for offences under Sections 188 (disobedience), 269 and 270 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 51 (b) of the National Disaster Management Act, 2,3 and 4 of the Epidemic Diseases Act and 11 of the Maharashtra Covid-19 rules. Bagwe told TOI, “There was a sudden rush of customers, which led to the situation.” “We did not anticipate such a rush during closing hours. Our manager told police that no customer was dining. The police then walked out but did not inform us of the FIR. We are implementing the state’s Covid norms and have not flouted any rules,” Baker said.
Pune: Ex-min’s son, 23 others booked for flouting norms
