Illicit distillery link to Patiala ASI’s suspension?

PATIALA: An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) posted at Patiala’s Shambhu police station, Manjit Singh, was suspended for poor performance on Sunday, but sources said the disciplinary action had been taken as the cop’s name had cropped up during investigation into an illicit liquor-manufacturing unit that was busted on May 13.
The unit was located near Shambhu state border with Haryana.
According to the official communique, issued by senior superintendent of police (SSP) Mandeep Singh Sidhu, the ASI has been placed under suspension for ‘poor performance’.
Ghanaur DSP Manpreet Singh Thind confirmed that the ASI has been placed under suspension, but refused to share details. SPP Sidhu could not be contacted for comment.
Sources in the police said investigators were now working to establish the source of extra neutral alcohol (ENA), which was being used to manufacture the illicit liquor and were likely to find gaps in the system enforced by the state excise department to prevent any loss of revenue to the state exchequer. Police had recovered a huge cache of ENA from a plot owned by one of the accused on May 20, a few days after the unit was busted.
Prior to busting the factory, Patiala SSP had sent the then station house officer (SHO) of Shambhu on long leave. After the raid on the illegal unit, the serving SHO was sent to police lines and now action has been taken against the ASI.
Police investigation has already established that local leaders cutting across party lines — including those of BJP, Congress and SAD — had formed a nexus to run the illicit unit. Excise officials are also under the scanner as they have been accused of receiving Rs 5 lakh a month as bribe from the accused.
After the unit was unearthed, the Congress and the SAD blamed each other, while AAP held a protest in Ghanaur.
The illicit operation were being run from a shut down cold storage. The property was previously owned by a BJP MLA from Rajpura and it was later transferred in the name of his aide Vijay Kumar, who is an accused in the case. The factory did not have a power connection and a generator was being used to run operations.
The other accused include Amrik Singh, a Congress sarpanch of Khanpur village whose wife is a member of the zila parishad. Darshan Singh of Pabri village, who is an SAD loyalist and has been a former member of block samiti, too is an accused.