Cops in slumber as foreign students party all night

At a time when the Pune Foreign Registration Office (FRO) claims to be the most vigilant body across the country by deporting maximum foreign students, a group of foreign national students from African countries organised a ‘midnight party’ in the first week of September right under the nose of the police in Camp.

Interestingly, neither the FRO nor the Pune crime branch had any idea about the party. The foreign nationals did not take the required permission from the authorities before organising the party.

Deputy commissioner of police (FRO) Rajesh Mane said that the foreign national students cannot organise a late-night party in the city as it is illegal. When asked about the midnight African party, Mane said, “We do not have any idea about it. If such a party had been conducted, we will investigate the matter and take legal actions against the violators.”

Senior police inspector (FRO) Mahesh Joshi told dna, “Foreign national students cannot organise a midnight party. If they have organised a party, it is violation of the visa rules. If they want to organise any party, they have to give us an application. We have got no such application in the recent past.”

Meanwhile, sources told dna that as many as 300 foreign national students had assembled at the party venue. The party organisers had also printed the posters of the party and had distributed it among the foreign national students in the city. The poster read ‘Friday African Night— world of African music’ and also mentioned the names of the DJ’s along with cellphone numbers.

Meanwhile, Mane admitted that they do not have adequate staff to gather intelligence of the foreign national students. As a result, they are failing to track down such activities in the city.

“It is also the duty of the concerned police station to track down such activities,” he said. When specifically asked what sort of action would be taken against the violators, Mane said, “At this juncture, we cannot say anything. We will conduct an inquiry in the case and then further course of action will be decided.”

The party venue comes under the jurisdiction of the Cantonment police and even they are clueless about it. Senior police inspector Faruk Kazi of Cantonment police station said, “We do not have any idea about the party. If such midnight parties are being organised, we will take legal action against them.”