Excise Dept appears before DCW

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 12

The Excise Department of the Delhi Government is facing acute manpower crunch and it has only five officers who are responsible for the entire outer district for collecting intelligence and keeping vigil on transport/sale of illicit liquor.

Often minors and women are used as “shields” by the mafia to transport liquor in small vehicles through fields on the border from Haryana, the Excise Department revealed before the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) here today.

The information was shared by the Deputy Commissioner of the Excise Department who appeared before the woman panel in connection with the recent case of Narela in which a woman was assaulted by a group of women in the locality apparently for helping the commission and the Delhi Police to bust a liquor racket.

The DCW had also summoned the DCP, Rohini, who sought more time to file reply and was directed by the commission to file the reply within two days.

On December 6, the DCW led by its chairperson Swati Jaihind and members conducted inspections in Narela following several complaints from the women residents regarding sale of illicit liquor and drugs in certain houses in their area.

The inspection team visited Pocket 11 and 4 of the area in Narela and found several areas where liquor was being openly sold in homes. The police was also called on the spot and over 300 bottles of liquor was confiscated from a house.

Later, one the women who gave inputs to the commission during the inspection was attacked by the accused women. This prompted the DCW chief to accuse the police of “inaction”, especially after complaints of alleged collusion between area police and liquor mafia.

Subsequently, the accused women were arrested while Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took up the matter with Lt Governor Anil Baijal seeking prompt action in the case and expressing concern over illegal liquor trade becoming rampant in many areas, including Narela, in the national Capital.

The excise official informed the DCW that the accused woman who was caught with liquor by the DCW inspection team in Narela is a repeat offender. The accused woman and her husband have 31 cases already registered against them.

The department has also seized 47 vehicles from Narela in the past five years, it said in its submission before the panel.

Swati Jaihind stated, “Despite registration of cases and police being aware of the accused being habitual offenders, for the past 17 years, no steps to restrict their activities have been taken.”