Major haul: Lahan, illicit liquor seized from Tarn Taran villages

Our Correspondent

Tarn Taran, July 23

The Excise Department and the district police under Operation Red Rose, launched on the instructions of Rajat Aggarwal, Excise Commissioner, Punjab, conducted a special search operation against the manufacturing of illicit liquor at Cheema Kalan and Shakri villages here on Friday.

Around 11,290 kg of lahan, 1,10,750 ml of illicit liquor and a working still were recovered from the spot.

Excise Officer Navjot Bharti and DSP Iqbal Singh led the teams which consisted of 70 police personnel. Excise inspectors Amrik Singh, Parshotam Pathania and Jatinder Singh supervised the search operation.

Navjot Bharti said one working still, 600 kg of lahan and 42,000 ml of illicit liquor were recovered from the house of Sahib Singh of Cheema Kalan. Besides, 630 kg of lahan and 5,250 ml of illicit liquor were seized from the houses of Mukhtiar Singh and Balwinder Singh of Cheema Kalan village. The accused managed to flee from the spot.

Around 560 kg of lahan and 15,000 ml of illicit liquor were seized from the houses of Harbhinder Singh, Sewa Singh and Gurjit Singh of Shakri village. During searches in the village pond and the road along the canal, 9,500 kg of lahan and 48,500 ml of illicit liquor, both unclaimed, were recovered from Shakri village, said the Excise Officer. All the culprits managed to escape from the spot.

Excise Officer Navjot Bharti said from Monday to Friday, joint parties of the Excise Department and the district police also conducted search operations at Kot Dharam Chand Kalan, Dhand, Brahampura and Sarali Manda villages. He said 20,240 kg of lahan and 1,67,750 ml of illicit liquor were recovered.

Gurpreet Singh of Kot Dharam Chand Kalan village, Jaspal Singh of Dhand village and Gurpreet Singh of Sarali Manda village were arrested. The accused had been booked under Sections 61, 1 and 14 of the Excise Act by the police station concerned, said the excise officer.