Liquor worth Rs 32 lakh seized; five arrested

RAJKOT: In two major seizures, Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) bottles worth Rs 31.87 lakh were seized from Bhavnagar and Dhrangadhra in Surendranagar district on Sunday night. Five bootleggers were arrested in these connections.
In Bhavnagar, a total of 8,232 IMFL bottles worth Rs 24.67 lakh were seized from a truck and two bootleggers arrested.
The liquor bottles were stored beneath the sacks filled with powder. The arrests and seizures were made on the basis of a tip-off.
“The accused, identified as Dharamsinh Rajput (27) and Chhelsinh Rajput (55), said that one Sohanlal Bishnoi from Jodhpur had uploaded the liquor cache on to the truck. The consignment was to be delivered to Kumarpalsinh Gohel in Vartej village near Bhavnagar,” said P R Solanki, sub-inspector with Sihor police station, adding that Bishnoi and Gohel were booked for the crime.
In Dhrangadhra, a total of 1,800 IMFL bottles worth Rs 7.2 lakh were seized and three bootleggers arrested.
The accused, identified as Ramesh Parmar, Vikramsinh Rajput and Mayursinh Jadeja, had come to take the delivery of the liquor consignment that had arrived in a truck near Jivagam pond of Dhrangadhra taluka.
“The accused revealed the names of Pradeepsinh Jhala, who had ordered the liquor supply and Baljeetsinh Jaat, the truck driver, following which we booked them for the crime,” said an official from Dhrangadhra taluka police station.