Spirit of honesty lands four Pune men in prohibition mess

(This story was first published in the Times of India on July 15, 2020)

Ahmedabad: While Gujarat police have been enforcing liquor prohibition since the state was established in 1960, some people are still ignorant about this dry state. Four men from Pune, were caught by Gujarat cops at the Amirgadh check post on the Gujarat-Rajasthan border when they showed the liquor bottles they were carrying to the police.

Their honesty not only cost them a legal case but also their new SUV, which was seized.

A cop with Amirgadh police in Banaskantha district said that they were at the check post on Sunday afternoon when they saw the SUV, bearing a Maharashtra number plate. They flagged down the vehicle and began noting the names and addresses of those inside.

The cops then asked the four persons men, all from Pune, what they were carrying with them. To this, the men pointed to a white carton containing eight liquor bottles. Ignorant about Gujarat’s liquor laws, the men told the cops that they were carrying two bottles per person, to last them the journey to Pune. They told the cops they had bought the booze from a wine shop in Abu Road.

They thus gave the police evidence that they possessed liquor and intended to consume it in Gujarat. Amirgadh police booked them under prohibition laws.