Bootleggers continue to cash in on lockdown to sell illegal liquor in J&K

Since the lockdown was enforced in the UT on March 25, the field staff has conducted 12 raids in villages

At a time when liquor vends are closed due to the lockdown imposed to contain the coronavirus outbreak, the business of bootleggers in Jammu and Kashmir has flourished.

HT File

Deputy commissioner of the excise department Amarjeet Singh said that since the lockdown was enforced in the UT on March 25, the field staff has conducted 12 raids in villages Chak Drab Khan, Kangrial, Budhi, Chardayala of Kathua district, Lower Judh, Upper Judh and Bala villages of Akhnoor in Jammu district, and Sasalkote, Doongi, Gharati villages of Rajouri district.

“In these raids against the bootleggers, we destroyed 4600kg of Lahan and 75 liters of illicit liquor. Four bootleggers that included three women have also been arrested,” he said.

Lahan, a yellow coloured viscose is a raw material for producing illicit liquor and it has to be distilled on a fire. It contains ethyl alcohol.

“Since liquor vends are closed the menace of illicit distillation and subsequent sale has gone up during the lockdown but we are taking all precautions to curb it. This liquor is not safe to consume. To meet increased demand, bootleggers mix toxic materials that can prove fatal,” said Singh.

Amid reports of excise department submitting a proposal to the administration to start home delivery of liquor, J&K excise commissioner Rajesh Kumar Shavan, said, “No such order has been issued yet.”