Now, Ramadoss targets 'pub culture'

Closing ranks with leaders opposing pub culture in the aftermath of the Mangalore incident, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Friday said it was against Indian ethos and asserted that the proposed National Alcohol Policy would help curb it.
"We definitely condemn the incident where women were attacked, but the pub culture must stop. It is because of this that youth in the country have taken to drinking in a big way," Ramadoss said at a press conference in new delhi.
Linking youngsters visiting pubs to increased rates of accidents due to drunken driving, he said: "In India, 40 per cent of road accidents are alcohol-related."
These young people not only jeopardise their lives but are also a danger to others on the roads.
"It is not our culture. If it goes this way I don't think India will progress," Ramadoss said adding, most of the people losing their lives due to such road accidents and alcoholism were in their early twenties, which are the most productive years.
Unfortunately over the recent years, there has been a huge percentage of people taking to alcohol.
There is also a study which says that in the last five to six years there is an increase of 60 per cent among the youth who have taken to drinking, he said.

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Ram Sena chief arrested for Mangalore pub violence

The Mangalore police on Wednesday arrested Sri Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik in the Mangalore pub-assault case, hours after he got bail in another case in Davanagere.
Muthalik was taken into custody on Jan 27 for an inflammatory speech in Davangere. He got bail in the case but was re-arrested by the Mangalore police for pub-violence on January 24.
Police had requested the Davangere court to hand over Muthalik for interrogation, IGP (Western Range) A M Prasad told agencies here today.
He told a TV channel that the Davanagere police wil hand over Muthalik to Mangalore police which will interrogate him in connection with the pub-attack case. He said cases have been registered against the 27 others under criminal interrogation, trespass, molestation, criminal conspiracy. Charges will be fixed against Muthalik once he is questioned, Prasad added.
Earlier, all the 27 Sri Ram Sena workers in a local court, who have been arrested in connection with the attack on girls in a Mangalore pub.
The investigators believe that Muthalik’s custody will help police in obtaining more information about other prominent members of the organisation who are still at large.
All schools and colleges across Mangalore remained closed today and the students' community has started a signature campaign demanding stringent action against the culprits while expressing sympathy towards the victims.
Prior to Muthalik’s arrest, police also picked up the Sri Ram Sena vice president Prasad Attavar and 10 others in connection with the case.
However, Sri Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik later apologised for the attack on weekend revellers at a Mangalore pub, saying the way the right-wing group acted "was wrong" but insisted it was done to "save our mothers and daughters".
Muthalik also denied his affiliation with the BJP and said he was only working for Hindutva.
The BJP government in the state has earned sharp criticism for its insufficient and slow response to the shameful act.
In view of the increasing public pressure, BJP president also condemned the incident as an "unacceptable act of hooliganism".
Complicating things for the BJP government, the National Commission for Women (NCW) on Tuesday constituted a three member panel to probe the incident.

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