4,000 litres of ethanol meant for making illicit liquor seized in Punjab

PATIALA: The police in Patiala have nabbed a former block samiti member and seized 4,000 litres of Ethanol Neutral Alcohol (ENA), which was to be used for manufacturing illegal liquor. ENA was found during a raid at a farm in Pabri village of Ghanaur block of Patiala district, which belonged to SAD-BJP member.
ENA is a primary raw material for making alcoholic beverages. It is a colourless foodgrade rectified alcohol.
The police claimed they got a tip-off and a raid was carried out late on Monday night by DSP Ghanaur Manpreet Singh in the Pabri village.
The ENA was stored in 20 drums, each having 200 litres, and 15 empty drums. An excise officer was also called on the spot.
Police identified the accused as Darshan Singh of Pabri village. A case against him was registered under the Excise Act. DSP Manpreet said that Darshan owned 25 acres of agricultural land in the village. “He was running his illegal activities in a part of his land near the tubewell in his fields,” the DSP said.
“The accused was block samiti member from 2013 to 2018. We are carrying out further investigation to see if more politicians are involved in the case, but so far there we have not found any clues. We have arrested Darshan Singh but did not arrested one labourer as his role was not found in t