Bhubaneswar, Oct. 16: Police conducted a raid last night on a pub near Fortune Tower at Chandrasekharpur for playing loud music after the stipulated time. Two of the pub staff were detained and the police seized the musical instruments.

Chandrasekharpur police said the detained employees were released today after they paid a fine of Rs 1,000 each under the Orissa Urban Police (OUP) Act. However, the police said the musical instruments were not returned back to them and those had been seized as per the instructions of Orissa High Court.

Last night, a police team consisting of deputy commissioner of police Nitinjeet Singh and other senior police officers conducted raids on the pub, following complaints regarding loud music being played there.

“We got complaints that loud music was being played in the pub after 10pm, the time limit stipulated by Orissa High Court. We conducted a raid and checked the music by the sound detector.

“As it was above the fixed sound limit of 65 decibel, we seized their musical instruments and detained two of the employees,” said a senior police officer.

Seeing the police, the revellers — mostly youths — fled from the pub. Sources said the pub had always been violating the loud music norms set by the high court as well as the police.

A senior police officer said several raids had been conducted in the pub earlier for violating rules and on the complaints of illegal activities going on there.