Our Correspondent

Tarn Taran, August 4

The Excise Department and the district police, on the instructions of Excise Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal, conducted search operations in three border area villages, under Operation Red Rose. Huge quantity of illicit liquor and lahan was recovered from them.

Navjot Bhatri, a local Excise Officer, said, raids were conducted in Kalsian Kalan, Sandhran and Mari Megha villages. Seven of the accused have been arrested while one managed to escape from the spot. Those arrested include a couple (Sukhpal Singh and his wife Harpreet kaur) of Sandhran village.

The Excise Officer revealed that the other accused arrested have been identified as Baldev Singh, Randhir Singh (from Kalsian Kalan), Lakhwinder Singh (from Sandhran village), Gurjant Singh and Gurlal Singh (from Mari Megha village). Another accused Hira Singh of Kalsian Kalan village escaped from the spot.

The Excise Department and the police recovered 1,00,500 ml of illicit liquor, 640-kg lahan with seven iron drums and five containers.

Cases under Sections 61, 1, 14 of the Excise Act have been registered against the accused at the concerned police station.