Haryana hooch tragedy: Mafia sold spurious liquor for Rs 525 a crate to illegal sellers

Shiv Kumar Sharma

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Yamunanagar, November 15

Liquor mafia were reportedly selling spurious liquor to ‘khurdas’ (people who sell liquor illegally in villages, towns and cities) for only Rs 525 per crate, with one crate containing 12 bottles.

However, the khurdas were selling the liquor to their customers for Rs 140 per bottle (Rs 1,680 for each box).

Each crate was sold at Rs 1,680

• The khurdas were selling liquor to their customers for Rs 140 per bottle (Rs 1,680 a crate containing 12 bottles)
• As per the Excise Policy of 2023-24, minimum retail sale price of a bottle of country liquor is fixed for Rs 170 (Rs 2040 per crate)
• As many as 227 crates of spurious liquor were supplied to an authorised liquor vend in a period of 20 days before the tragedy came to light in Yamunanagar on November 8

As per the Excise Policy of 2023-24, minimum retail sale price of a bottle of country liquor is fixed for Rs 170 (a box containing 12 bottles costing Rs 2,040).

Sources said the six suspects who were arrested by the police in connection with the hooch tragedy and were taken on police remand on Thursday revealed these findings during their interrogation.

Sources added that as per preliminary investigation, the spurious liquor was being supplied only at one government authorised/legal liquor vend in Phunsgarh village in Yamunanagar district for about 20 days before the tragedy came to light on November 8.

The spurious liquor was being supplied to this vend from the illegal liquor manufacturing factory in Dhanaura village of Ambala district.

“Spurious liquor was supplied three times at the vend in Phunsgarh village from the illegal liquor factory. As many 105, 43 and 79 boxes of liquor (227 liquor boxes) were supplied thrice at this liquor vend during 20 days,” a source said.

Sources added that 117 boxes of this spurious liquor were supplied to more than seven khurdas belonging to Peer Majra, Mandebari and other villages.

However, when the hooch tragedy came to light on November 8, as many as 110 boxes of the spurious liquor (of total 227) kept in the vend of Phunshgarh village were loaded in a vehicle and taken to an agriculture field in Golni village where the liquor was burnt to ashes.