"Cops Found OFF Button": German-Italian DJ's Mumbai Gig Stopped Over Licence

An eventful evening in Mumbai ended sooner than expected after officials from the Maharashtra Excise Department entered a pub, flagging a permit issue.

German-Italian DJ Stella Bossi was performing at antiSOCIAL pub in Mumbai's Lower Parel on Friday night when the officials showed up.

Sharing the video of the incident on her official Instagram account, Bossi said she was only 50 minutes into her set when officials came and asked her to shut it down.

"POV: You're 50 minutes into your set in Mumbai and the police finally found the OFF button", she posted along with a video of the incident and assured her fans that she would "come back soon".

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A post shared by Stella Bossi (@stellabossi)

Mumbai police soon shared a statement clarifing that they did not stop the concert, the intervention was carried out by officials from the Maharashtra State Excise Department.

Because of the similarity in the uniforms, people mistook the State Excise officials for police personnel as both departments wear khaki uniforms.

According to the Excise Department, they intervened because the event organizers failed to secure the mandatory one-day club/party permit required for hosting a large, ticketed event at that specific location.

The event was originally scheduled for the Cruise Terminal at Ballard Estate, but after being denied permissions there, organizers relocated it to antiSOCIAL without applying for the mandatory venue-specific safety and commercial event clearances.

Excise officials clarified that while antiSOCIAL holds a regular permit room license to serve alcohol, hosting a large-capacity ticketed event requires separate approvals to verify floor area, crowd capacity, emergency exits, and fire safety complianc

This incident highlight the importance of securing the necessary regulatory permissions and clearances before organising large-scale music and entertainment events.