MUMBAI: Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina, singer Guru Randhawa, model and actor Zulfikar Syed and Sussane Khan, interior designer and ex-wife of actor Hrithik Roshan, were among 34, including 13 women, arrested for alleged violations of Covid-19 protocols at a birthday celebration at a Andheri’s club in the early hours of Tuesday.
Sahar Police registered a first information report (FIR) against the 34 for violating pandemic rules and Dragonfly Club for staying open until 3 in the morning, beyond the stipulated hours. The FIR lists 27 sponsors, including Raina, Randhawa, Syed and some businessmen, and seven club employees. They were taken to the Sahar Police Station and then released on bail. The women, including Khan, were released after receiving a notification pursuant to Section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
Raina’s management team issued a statement Tuesday that it was not aware of local schedules and protocols and regrets the “unfortunate and unintentional” incident.
“Once indicated, he immediately complied with the procedures established by the authorities. He always maintains the rules and laws established by the governing bodies with the utmost consideration and will continue to do so in the future as well, ”it reads.
A statement from the Randhawa team also said that it “deeply regrets the unintentional incident” and was unaware of the local authorities’ decision to impose a night curfew “but instantly complied with all the rules set by the Government officials”. He promised to comply with the government’s guidelines and protocols by taking all precautionary measures in the future, the statement read.
DCP (Zone II) Rajiv Jain was on night duty when he received a notice that the club was open. Jain raided him along with a Gamdevi police inspector and Sahar policemen.
“Actions were taken against 27 clients, including Raina, Randhawa, Khan and others for violating prohibition orders (for the pandemic),” Jain said.
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