Surat Police bans cake-smearing in public places during group celebrations; move aimed at avoiding 'violent incidents'

The Surat Police on Monday issued prohibitory orders against smearing cake, adhesive tapes, throwing foam or chemicals during birthday celebrations in public spaces such as parks and BRTS corridors. The order was issued after instances of people getting thrashed for fun during such celebrations came to light. Lawyer Apar Gupta shared the copy of the order issued in Gujarati on Twitter, asking other users to translate it. [caption id=“attachment_39016” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Kassam A[/caption] According to the order, the police has emphasised that they can arrest any person found violating this order in a public area under Section 144 of the CrPC. The move, the order says, has been initiated to stop people from damaging public property or harming an individual during birthday celebrations. According to The Indian Express, the police banned “violent” late-night birthday parties in public places, especially roadsides, involving college goers or high school students. The notification which, the report says, is valid till 12 July was issued after some incidents were brought to light through social media of students indulging in violence and beating each other in the name of celebrations. The report also quotes the Surat Police Commissioner Satish Sharma saying that police have also received in person complaints of such incidents but no criminal case has been registered till date as the victims didn’t come forward. Previously, the Gujarat Police had banned the game PUBG and arrested many college students in connection with the same. Earlier, news regarding a boy succumbing to injuries caused by birthday bumps was shared widely on social media, with former cricketer Virender Sehwag also sharing the story on Twitter urging people to not indulge in such acts. However, the information was later found to be incorrect, as India Today verified that the news was fake and spoke to the alleged victim to quash false rumours regarding his death.