2,400 litres of lahan seized from 3 Patiala, Moga villages

Around 1,200 litres of lahan was seized by excise officials from Patiala’s Hajipur village in a crackdown against bootleggers on Thursday.

During the raid, the village was cordoned off to make the recovery. An official said 35 sealed plastic jars were taken out from a drain and abandoned fields.

“The raid is still on and our teams are checking the whole village and nearby water bodies since smugglers had kept the liquor in jars. These were either buried in pits or thrown into drains,” said Assistant Excise and Taxation Officer Rajesh Aery.

Meanwhile, Patiala SSP Varun Sharma said he had sought an explanation from the SHO concerned. “No laxity will be tolerated in any case involving drugs and illegal liquor,” he added.

Hidden in pits along Sutlej

Faridkot: The Moga police on Thursday seized 1,200 litres of lahan hidden in pits along the Sutlej here. The seizure was made by the Fatehgarh Sahib Panjtoor police. The police had received information that several persons belonging to Sangheya and Boghewala villages were involved in the distillation and sale of illicit liquor near riverbank. The police discovered multiple plastic drums hidden in pits along the riverbank. Three persons —Sukhwinder Singh, alias Billu, Gurdyal Singh and Gulab Singh —were arrested.