Cops issue non bailable warrant against Instagram influencer for drinking on the road

A self-proclaimed social media influencer Bobby Kataria was in news a few weeks ago for drinking in the middle of the road after stopping the traffic. The Uttrakhand Police is now on the lookout for the influencer and will soon arrest him.

 

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A post shared by Bobby Kataria (@katariabobby)

On July 28, Bobby Kataria uploaded a video on his Instagram where he was drinking alcohol in the middle of a road in Dehradun. Kataria’s bodyguards had stopped the traffic so that he could record the video and put it on his Instagram profile.

After the video became viral on social media, an FIR was lodged against him for stopping the traffic, drinking alcohol on the road and threatening the cops. The Uttrakhand police obtained a non-bailable warrant against him from the district court. The Uttrakhand police have now formed several teams and have sent them to Haryana and other locations to arrest him.

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Kataria wrote in the caption that “It’s time to enjoy on the roads.” Harayana Police has already filed a case against Bobby Kataria for smoking inside an aircraft.

In a tweet on its official Twitter handle, Uttrakhand Police said that the Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Kumar took cognizance of the video and filed cases against Mr Kataria under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Information Technology Act.

Drinking in public places

In India, drinking is illegal in public places including on the roads and public places. People cannot even drink alcohol in their cars parked in public places. Even blocking roads is an offence in India and people can be booked for illegally blocking the roads.

While there are many people who do protests against the administration against bad roads and potholes. But blocking a public road for drinking and making reels is illegal. We are not sure what kind of sections are filed against Bobby Kataria and what actions police will take against the Instagram influencer in the future.

People who want to do such things on public roads will have to take prior permission from the administration. One cannot simply block the highway whenever one wants. Even movie makers and creative artists who need to use it for shooting take prior permission. The public roads are made by public money for the public. Such incidents sure are rampant in different parts of the country. While the police are contemplating the actions, we do hope that they take strict action to set an example in the future.

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