UT police arrest 17 liquor smugglers in 23 days

Pawan Tiwari | TNN | Updated: Apr 16, 2020, 06:44 IST

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CHANDIGARH: The UT police have been fighting on double front. Besides keeping a tab on the curfew violators, the police are keeping a close vigil on bootleggers in the city.
Amid the curfew and lockdown, cases of smuggling and theft of liquor have been on the rise.
As many as 17 liquor smugglers have been arrested from different parts of the city between March 23 and April 14. A couple of theft cases of liquor boxes have also been reported.
According to the data, after FIRs related to the curfew violations, the UT police have registered maximum cases under the Excise Act. A majority of cases of bootlegging were reported from the rural areas of the city. Sector 31 police arrested five liquor smugglers and recovered around 22 boxes of country-made liquor and IMFL from their possession. Maloya police also arrested three liquor smugglers and claimed to have recovered 25 boxes of liquor.
The operation cell of the UT police also arrested two liquor smugglers from Industrial Area and recovered 50 boxes from their possession. The crime branch had arrested one person and recovered 20 boxes of liquor from his possession.
Liquor theft also increased during the lockdown. Pardeep Kumar of Gurdaspur had reported that some unknown persons broke into his liquor vend and stole 267 boxes of liquor in Mauli Jagran on April 10.
Later, the police arrested three persons and recovered around 38 boxes of liquor from their possession.
As per the data, seven cases of two-wheeler thefts, five cases of other theft, two snatchings and eight cases were registered under the Dowry Act in different police stations.
However, the police also registered cases of murder, robbery, assault on police officials, cheatings and brawls in the city during ongoing curfew.
However, 332 cases have been registered under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant). After auto thefts and other thefts, the police registered five cases and caught people while trying to smuggle illegal liquor bottles in the city in the past 21 days.