90,000 litre of illicit liquor found dumped near canal in Abohar

Raj Sadosh

Abohar, August 6

In a major achievement during the drive launched after death of 116 people due to spurious liquor, officials of Excise department, Khuyiansarwer police and Rajasthan police on Thursday detected and destroyed about 90,000 litre of illicit liquor that had been dumped along the Gang (Bikaner) canal.

Deputy Commissioner, Excise, Jaskaran Singh Brar said the department had taken the help of Khuyiansarwer police station as well as their Rajasthan counterparts.

Assistant Commissioner Excise RS Romana said the department was continuously investigating such sensitive places. On a tip-off, Excise Inspector Jasbir Singh Gill took action. He said there was a dense tree cover on the banks of the canal that passes through Abohar. Bootleggers had dug deep pits to dump illicit liquor.

In a joint operation was launched near Tootwala village, the department detected about 90,000 liter stored alongside the canal. It was destroyed on the spot.

In another raid Excise Inspector Harjit Singh with the help of Abohar Sadar police recovered and destroyed 500 litre of illicit liquor from the banks of Abohar Branch Canal near Chanankhera village.

It may be recalled that excise and police teams of Fazilka and Muktsar districts had destroyed thousands of litres of illicit liquor near Chanankhera village in the past five-six years but the accused were seldom nabbed. The canal bank was considered major hub of illici liquor preparation in the region, but lot needs to be done to crack the mafia, people said.