Goons block Pune road for 'birthday-bash at midnight', 4 booked

Pune, June 22 (IANS) A gang of unidentified ruffians allegedly blocked a public road in the city for a "midnight birthday party", and cut a cake with a sword, scaring the locals in the residential neighbourhood, officials said here on Thursday.

As videos of the birthday party at midnight emerged on social media, the Sahakar Nagar Police cracked the whip and filed a complaint against at least four persons.

"We have taken note of the incident and filed a complaint against four persons. We are making full investigations before taking further steps," Sahakar Nagar Police Inspector Savlaram Salgaonkar told IANS.

The on-road birthday celebrations took place early today (midnight June 21-22) when the rowdy group parked a car on the main thoroughfare in Sahakar Nagar, placed a large cake on it and then cut it with a gleaming sword, to mark the birthday of one of their notorious associates.

Unmindful of the surroundings, the gang then erupted into a full-throated "happy birthday to you" singing sequence, shouting or screaming their wishes, hugging each other. Some were allegedly inebriated and they generally created a high-decibel ruckus at that ungodly hour.

Many residents, including senior citizens, who had just shut eyes, were rudely woken up by the unexpected cacophony outside and some quietly peeped out of their windows to watch the goings-on.

In recent times, the state's academic, cultural and IT capital has witnessed a spurt in such wild midnight birthdays on the roads, junctions or in sleepy residential areas that are becoming a public or social nuisance, suspectedly by students or professionals who come to work and live here from all over the country.

"We have witnessed such groups of young brats suddenly converging in their cars or motorcycles in some place, screaming out 'happy birthdays!' in the middle of the night, some even guzzle beer and fling around the bottles or cans carelessly, light fire-crackers and create havoc with peace in the locality," said a senior citizen, Raju V. Parulekar.