When the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police conducted a raid on a restaurant in Uttan's Dongri area on Friday, they discovered that the establishment was selling alcohol and providing hookah to prospective customers in violation of the law. A night patrolling crew from the Uttan coastal police station raided Hotel Karma at approximately 1:45 am after receiving a report that hookah and alcohol were being unlawfully stocked, sold, and served there. Police claimed the hotel, which presents itself as a restaurant lawn, was offering hookah to customers in addition to selling and permitting the drinking of beer and liquor without excise licenses.
According to the Maharashtra Prohibition Act and the applicable provisions of the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution Act) (COPTA), 2003, two individuals, namely the manager Aquino Mendonca (age 29) and the waiter Tahirul Bhurbhuyan (age 19), were arrested and charged. The establishment's owner hasn't been taken into custody yet, though.
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The restaurant is surrounded by residential buildings. Ajit Pawar, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra who oversees the Finance and Planning portfolios, stated earlier in March that obtaining a no-objection certificate (NOC) will be necessary in order to build a liquor store in a housing society's commercial space. Speaking before the legislative assembly, Pawar stated that anyone wishing to build a liquor store in a housing society's commercial space must first seek a NOC from the society. "The liquor store will not be allowed to open in Maharashtra without the society's NOC," Pawar stated. The action aims to improve law and order by keeping housing societies peaceful and preventing alcohol addiction among the younger generation.