India, Sept. 14 -- The Pune city police's Zone 2 has taken prohibitory action against 701 criminals ahead of the Ganesh festival as part of preventive measures to maintain law and order during the celebrations, said police on Sunday.

According to police, to maintain peace during the upcoming Ganesh Festival, Milind Mohite, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 2), has identified a total of 701 on-record criminals in the zone, and under Section 163(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), prohibitory action was issued against them.

The highest number of actions were taken by Parvati police station, which initiated proceedings against 115 criminals. It was followed by Bibwewadi and Bharti Vidyapeeth police stations, with 104 actions by each...