Panel to probe Pune students’ illegal booze party

MUMBAI - The Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies has constituted a five-member inquiry committee to look into an illegal alcohol party that involved 489 students (254 boys and 235 girls), 80 of whom were detained by police, an official said Monday.

“We have constituted a team of five members including a lady member and a doctor to investigate the matter. They will be meeting for two days and will submit a report after that,” said the institute’s Principal Director Vidya Yeravadekar.

Pune rural police had raided the party at a farmhouse in Theur on the Pune-Sholapur road, around 25 km from their hostel in Pune.

“We received a complaint about loud music, following which we raided the farmhouse. The students neither had permission to play loud music nor did they have permission to consume alcohol,” said Ravindra Singh Pardesi, deputy superintendent of police, Pune (rural).

“We undertook a medical test of these students and found 80 of them had consumed alcohol. We released the others then and there itself,” Pardesi added.

The police also seized liquor worth Rs.17,000 from the farmhouse.

Yeravadekar said that various groups of students had asked permission for a “late out” Sunday.

“It being a Sunday, they were granted permission to stay out of the hostel till 12.30 a.m. When they did not return by 1 a.m., the rector informed the director of the institute, who also stays in the same premises,” she said.

“By the time we made inquires and reached the spot, police had already taken over,” she added.