A State Excise Enforcement Squad (SEES) investigation into complaints about the low potency of “Jawan XXX Rum” led to the detection of large-scale illegal diversion of spirit imported by Travancore Sugars and Chemicals Limited (TSCL), a State-owned distillery that has long dominated the market for low-priced liquor.
A chemical examination found the alcohol content in the liquor to be inexplicably low. The alcohol by volume ranged between 39% v/v and 37% v/v. As per Abkari rules, the ethyl content in the Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) sold in Kerala should be 43% v/v. The law allowed for a small margin of error. The inconsistency stoked suspicion of foul play in production.
Excise Commissioner S. Aananthakrishnan ordered a covert inquiry.
Soon, government hospitals complained that alcohol content was dismally low in TSCL manufactured hand sanitisers.
TSCL had commenced production of spirit from homegrown sugar cane in 1948. With sugar production dwindling, it imported spirit from distilleries in northern India. It halted distillation and became a blending and bottling unit.
The SEES team led by T. Anikumar tracked the import of spirit. It suspected that certain TSCL officials had “rigged bids” to award spirit import to a set of “trusted transporters”. The SEES recruited competitors in the tanker lorry business as informants.
On June 27, the SEES intercepted three tanker lorries inbound to TSCL from a distillery in Madhya Pradesh. It found the crew had tampered with the dip volume meter that indicated the amount of spirit in the tanker.
They had also tinkered with GPS enabled digital lock that enabled TSCL to track the spirit movement remotely.
It helped the accused erase electronic evidence of unauthorised stops and unlawful diversions from the original route.
The SEES found ₹10 lakh on the crew and 20,000 litres of spirit missing. The drivers “confessed” that they routinely sold spirit to a gang led by “one Abu” in Maharashtra.
The lorries often took a detour to a secret warehouse to offload the spirit. Some blenders in TSCL reportedly made up for the lack of spirit by reducing the potency of Jawan Rum and hand sanitisers. The racket was running for years.
The SEES report prompted the government to order a police investigation into the TSCL affairs. An anti-corruption probe was also under way.
