Pune: The nationwide 21-day lockdown created great frustration for the tipplers. But burglars began aiming at liquor stores to make money by selling the stolen liquor in the black market. On Tuesday night in Dapodi, a township near Pune, thieves looted 48 bottles of expensive whiskey worth over Rs 70,000.

Dapodi comes under the administration of Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). Wine shops are allowed to be open in the Pimpri-Chinchwad area as it doesn't come under the Red Zone.

The theft was reported by Manoj Pardeshi, who lifted the shutter of Raja Wine shop on Wednesday morning to find his inventory missing. The shop is located in Nehru Chowk area of Dapodi. Station House Officer (SHO) and Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) Mahendra Ghadbe told Mirror Online on Thursday.

Ghadbe said that the robbers invaded the shop by cutting an iron grill on the shop ceiling. He was quoted saying, “In fact, they (thieves) did not fully enter the shop. Instead, they hung from the ceiling cavity and lifted the expensive scotch whiskey lot that had been kept over the fridge containing beer.”

The finest collection of whiskey was kept over the fridge, he added.

Thieves were clever enough to take necessary precautions to not get caught by the CCTV camera’s which were fixed on the front door of the shop. Ghadbe said, “They approached the shop from the backyard and made their good escape using the same route.”

In the meantime, the police have warned their informers and contacts to find any missing bottles and alerted the police at the Pune border in anticipation of smuggles into the Red Zone at a higher rate.

Apart from this robbery, four thefts have been reported from liquor shops and beer bars in Nagpur in the last 3 days. Thieves stole liquor worth Rs 4 lakh, which has now diverted the police attention from COVID-19 pandemic.