Drive against illegal liquor sale stepped up ahead of NY

Ranchi: In an attempt to prevent a Bihar-like hooch tragedy from happening in Jharkhand, state police and the excise department have jointly intensified drive against sale of illegal and spurious liquor here. At least 70 people died in Bihar’s Saran in the hooch tragedy.
Apart from ensuring adequate revenue through sale of liquor from licensed shops, the campaign also aims to prevent consumption of spurious liquor by people. Inspector general (operations) Amol Homkar has been made the nodal officer of the state to conduct the raids.
During the past three days, as many as 294 cases have been registered across the state under the Excise Act. The raiding teams have seized 5,050 litres of foreign made liquor, 480 litres of spirit and apprehended 102 persons.
The excise department team led by inspector Pradeep Sharma on Tuesday seized 150 boxes of rum from a house in Balalog Mahua Toli under Nagri police station area in Ranchi district. The bottles contain stickers of Arunachal Pradesh (AP). Moreover, 186 boxes of whiskey were also seized from a house under the Pundaag police station area in Ranchi on Saturday. The liquor were to be sold during the New Year festivities.
An official said that it is to be verified whether the seized liquor is genuinely manufactured in AP or it is locally manufactured. “In case the material is locally manufactured, it could also be spurious,” he added.