Over 400 people were arrested for “disorderly conduct” on Tuesday and Wednesday when the city celebrated Holi, Kolkata police said.
There were fewer complaints of forcible splashing of colours compared with previous years and the majority of the arrests were related to drunken brawl, blocking roads while playing Holi, drinking in the open and creating nuisance.
Over 50 litres of liquor were seized from different areas on two days, the police said.
“There was no major law and order problem that needed police intervention. There were incidents of forcible use of colours and those were immediately attended to,” said a senior officer at the police headquarters in Lalbazar.
While 197 people were arrested on Wednesday, 212 were rounded up on Tuesday.
Officers said the arrest count was less than last year, when close to 700 people were arrested over two days of Holi celebrations.
Heavy radio flying squads were kept stationed outside many police stations and senior officers were asked to submit periodic reports of areas under their surveillance to the control room at the police headquarters.
While most of the city played Holi on Tuesday, many pockets, including parts of Phoolbagan, Burrabazar, Posta and Beleghata, celebrated the festival of colours on Wednesday.
“Senior officers were on roads in pockets that have a mixed population. Hundreds of police pickets were set up to ensure prompt intervention in case of any complaint,” an officer said.
“Teams from the disaster management group were posted along the ghats ofthe Hooghly.”
Two persons drowned on Tuesday — in ponds in Ranikuthi and Maniktala.
Disaster management personnel saved a 23-year-old woman from drowning while she was taking a dip in the Hooghly at Ratan Babu Ghat in Cossipore on Tuesday. The woman was rushed to a hospital nearby, from where she was discharged after treatment.
Fire in room
A fire broke out in a room of a building on Russa Road (South) on Wednesday. The room was used to store scrap. No was injured, police said.