Mahendragarh: 870 boxes of illicit liquor 'meant for sale in Chandigarh' seized

Tribune News Service

Ravinder Saini

Mahendragarh, February 5

Close on the heels of a Chandigarh bottling plant found involved in the smuggling of illicit liquor, the Mahendragarh police on Sunday unearthed another racket of liquor smuggling by confiscating 870 boxes of illicit liquor having the stamp of “for sale in UT Chandigarh only” on the bottles.

Preliminary investigation into the case revealed that the consignment was being transported to Gujarat from the Tricity (Chandigarh) area in a truck on the permit for bicycle accessories. The truck driver was arrested and the police were interrogating him till the filing of this news report to get more information about the racket.

“The driver, identified as Akhilesh of Mainpuri district (Uttar Pradesh), has disclosed that the consignment of liquor was to be transported to Jaipur (Rajasthan) from Ludhiana, but a team of the Narnaul CIA seized it on the Narnaul-Jaipur highway in the Nangal Choudhary area on getting a tip-off in this respect,” said Vikrant Bhushan, Superintendent of Police (SP), Mahendragarh, adding that a case in this respect had been booked at the Nangal Choudhary police station.

Sources maintained that it was for the second time in the past one and a half months when the Chandigarh connection had been found in the smuggling of illicit liquor to Gujarat via Mahendragarh. Earlier, a container carrying 1,023 boxes of illicit liquor was impounded in Mahendragarh on December 18 last year. The local police investigation into the case established the involvement of Chandigarh-based Sancheti Packaging Private Limited.

“Besides finding out others involved in this racket of illicit liquor smuggling, the Mahendragarh police are working to ascertain link, if any, of the 870 boxes of illicit liquor with the Chandigarh bottling plant,” claimed the sources.

SP Vikrant Bhushan said the Mahendragarh police had so far arrested 13 persons, including two owners of M/s Sancheti Packaging Private Limited, in the seizure of 1,023 boxes of illicit liquor on December 18 last year.

“Even the Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Chandigarh, has cancelled its licence and ordered the sealing of its premises, besides slapping a fine of Rs 1.50 crore on M/s Sancheti Packaging Private Limited,” said the SP, adding that the investigation was still under way in the matter.

Truck was on way to Gujarat

• The liquor was being transported to Gujarat from Tricity on permit of bicycle accessories
• Chandigarh connection in smuggling of illicit liquor via Mahendragarh found second time in past one and a half months
• A container carrying 1,023 boxes of illicit liquor was impounded in Mahendragarh on December 18 last year

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