Lid off illegal liquor bottle cap unit at Dera Bassi, owner held

Mohali, June 27

Continuing its efforts against bottling illicit liquor as well as smuggling of illicit liquor into Punjab under “Operation Red Rose”, the Excise Department has busted a racket of unauthorised manufacturing of liquor bottle caps. The owner of the Dera Bassi factory has been arrested in the case.

Naresh Dubey, Joint Excise Commissioner, Punjab, said they received a tip-off about a manufacturing unit at Hansa Industrial Park, Barwala Road, Dera Bassi, which was involved in unaccounted manufacturing of bottle caps, in connivance with some bottling plants for illicit liquor.

A nexus between the caps manufacturing unit operating in Hansa Industrial Park and some liquor bottling units in Chandigarh surfaced. The bottling units purchased caps in cash in an unauthorised manner. This unaccounted supply of caps was used to bottle illicit liquor that was later on supplied to various parts of the country, including Punjab.

On the intervening night of June 24 and 25, a team from the Excise Commissionerate, Punjab, and the Mohali police raided M/s Sia Industry in Hansa Industrial Park, Dera Bassi. During the search, a big haul of liquor bottle caps were found manufactured and stored. No supporting documents could be produced by the manufacturing unit.

Approximately 2 lakh caps of Sancheti Packaging Pvt Limited, Chandigarh, were recovered for which no work order could be produced by the owner, Samritpal Singh.

Approximately 20,000 caps of Sir Shadi Lal Distillery, Mansurpur (UP), were also found. During the course of investigation, it was established through the Excise Department of Uttar Pradesh that Sir Shadi Lal Distillery had not placed any order for these caps to the manufacturing unit in Punjab.

Samritpal Singh was arrested on the spot. He was produced before a local court in Mohali on June 26, which remanded him in two-day police custody. Excise Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal he had taken up the matter with the Chandigarh cpunterpart, who would raise the issue with the Chandigarh Finance Secretary. He said a centralised number — 9875961126 — had been launched by the government for such complaints. — TNS

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