Excise official meets Doda in Amritsar jail, sparks row

Raj Sadosh

Abohar, May 17

The audio clip of Excise Department official meeting liquor baron Shiv Lal Doda in the Amritsar jail yesterday has created a storm in administrative, political and social circles as the conversation has gone viral on the social media.

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Punjab Pradesh Congress president Sunil Jakhar had been apprised of the development, sources said.

Trying to downplay the incident, Divisional Excise and Taxation Commissioner Jitender Singh confirmed over phone that he had gone to meet Doda in Central Jail, Amritsar, to discuss the status of his liquor vends and stayed with him for 15 minutes.

Responding to telephonic queries, Amritsar Jail Superintendent Ashish Kapur also confirmed that Jitender Singh had sought permission to meet Doda in connection with some official work yesterday.

However, the audio clip on conversation reportedly held between a liquor baron of Fazilka district and an official in the Excise Department indicates that pressure was being mounted allegedly to safeguard interests of Doda even as his family had this time distanced from the auctioning of shops in the district.

On the complaint of local liquor contractors, the police had conducted raids in the past few days and seized liquor that had been smuggled from Haryana. SSP Dr Ketan Baliram Patil had asked the department to intensify vigil on interstate check posts to check liquor smuggling, but the response was zero so far. Doda and his nephew Amit are accused in the Bhim Tank murder case.