Thiruvananthapuram, The Keralam government will take stringent action against bars that serve alcohol to people below the legal age of 23, Excise Minister M Liju told the Assembly on Tuesday.
Replying to a question raised by Ernakulam MLA T J Vinod on the Mini Cooper crash that killed three youngsters near Kochi on Sunday, the minister said the Excise Department had registered cases against three bars for allegedly serving liquor to the accused persons below the prescribed age.
"The state government will not compromise on this issue under any circumstances," Liju said.
He said the Excise Department acted immediately after the incident came to his attention and that he had instructed senior officials to take prompt action.
The minister also said the government was considering stricter guidelines to prevent bars from serving alcohol to people below 23 years of age.
"The government will take strong and more stringent action against bars in the state that serve alcohol to people below the age of 23," he said.
Liju said several road accidents in the state had been caused by people driving under the influence of alcohol and other intoxicating substances.
"Many lives have been lost due to such irresponsible driving," he said.
The minister said the existing Abkari Act contained provisions to act against bars that served alcohol to people below the legal age, and the government was considering further measures to strengthen enforcement.
Three youngsters two women and a man all aged around 21, were killed when a speeding Mini Cooper, allegedly driven by a 19-year-old youth under the influence of alcohol, rammed into their scooter at Nedumbassery near Kochi in the early hours of Sunday.
The car was allegedly driven by Kochi native Suhail, who was arrested soon after the accident and booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Police said his mother had gifted him the luxury car for his birthday and that they had found videos purportedly showing him driving at speeds exceeding 200 kmph.
His friends, Ninav, Ameer and Joel, who were also in the car at the time of the accident, were also arrested.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.