Bengaluru: Liquor ban withdrawn, but Section 144 still in place
Bengaluru: City Police Commissioner Alok Kumar on Wednesday withdrew the liquor ban which he had imposed ahead of the floor test in the Karnataka Assembly on Tuesday. However, Section 144 will still be in place till Thursday 6 pm.
On Tuesday, ahead of the floor test, the Commissioner had imposed Section 144 across Bengaluru and had ordered bars, wine shops and pubs to remain closed till Thursday 6 pm.
The orders came minutes after Congress-JD(S) workers clashed outside Nitesh Apartment on Race Course Road where two independent MLAs were spotted.
"Starting from today, Section 144 will be imposed and all the bars, wine shops and pubs are directed to down their shutters till Thursday 6 pm. This is to avert any untoward incident," Kumar had said.
As the floor test was conducted on Tuesday which saw the collapse of Congress-JD(S) coalition government in the state and paved the wave for BJP to stake a claim, Kumar on Wednesday withdrew the liquor ban order as the city was free from untoward incidents on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"Section 144 and a liquor ban was imposed to prevent any untoward incidents. As there were no untoward incidents reported for over 24 hours, we are withdrawing the liquor ban order from Wednesday 6 pm. Section 144 will however continue to be in place till Thursday 6 pm," Kumar said.
