Vigil up to check flow of illicit liquor during elections

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 14

With the poll fever slowly gaining momentum, the illicit liquor brewing is still going on with impunity in the rural belt. The Punjab Police, along with the Excise Department, have formed teams to check the illicit liquor trade in the border district.

Only yesterday, the excise team, along with the Punjab police, seized a large quantity of lahan (raw material for manufacturing illicit liquor) and illicit liquor.

SSP Amritsar Rural Rakesh Kaushal said the police have already started a drive to check the menace which raises its ugly head, especially during the election season. “Instructions have been passed on to all Station House Officers and senior police officials to activate their sources to nail those involved in the illegal trade,” said Kaushal.

Alcohol is a potent tool at the hands of the politicians to woo voters not only in the villages but also in the urban areas.

In view of the upcoming polls, an excise team led by inspector Rajwinder Kaur, along with the police team, conducted raids at two places in Bhindi Saida police station area and confiscated 9400 kg of lahan along with nine tarpaulin sheets to cover the same and two iron drums. The police have booked Manpreet Singh and Buta Singh, of Bhindi Saida under the Excise Act. Both the accused absconded from the spot. Similarly, following a tip-off,the police teams raided at Bhorsi Rajputa village wherein it seized 1060-kg lahan along with 17 bottles of illicit liquor.

The rural police booked 10 persons in separate cases for possessing illicit liquor and some of them were released on bail.

Ratan Singh Randhawa, prominent farmer leader of the Jamhoori Kisan Sabha, said, though the election related activities are yet to gain peak in view of Covid-19 induced restrictions, illicit liquor remained a bane in the villages while it was difficult for the police to crack a whip at every bootlegger. The police have to think out of the box to nail them.

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