More than 600 people were arrested between Tuesday and Wednesday for “disorderly conduct” from different parts of Calcutta during Holi celebrations.

While 330 were arrested on Tuesday, the figure on Wednesday stood at 277, police said.

Over 12 litre of illicit liquor were seized on Wednesday and 25 litre on Tuesday from different places across the 10 divisions under the jurisdiction of Kolkata Police.

Senior officers said prosecutions were more stringent this time, with over 4,000 cops deployed across the 10 divisions.

Over 390 police posts were set up, with officers down from the rank of joint commissioner out on the roads.

Six police personnel were deployed at each of the 86 major posts that were set
up at key intersections like Shyambazar, Khanna, Park Circus Seven Point, and
Gariahat.

Policemen on motorcycles and mobile patrol vans “covered” smaller roads, lanes, and by-lanes to ensure there was no forcible use of colours or rash driving in a drunken state.

Apart from divisions, heavy police contingents and members of disaster management teams were deployed at different ghats and water bodies across the city to prevent drowning or anti-social activities.

“A 52-year-old man from Madhyamgram, Samir Maity, drowned in the Hooghly near the Sovabazar Ghat on Tuesday while bathing. Members of the disaster management team pulled him out of the water and shifted him to Medical College, Calcutta, where he was declared dead,” the officer said.

On Wednesday, police contingents were also posted in certain parts of the city, where Holi was celebrated.

“The police stations have been instructed to stay alert even after the celebrations are over,” he said.