Gurugram launches ‘break the neck’ drive to crack down on liquor swindle

The Gurugram excise department has launched a campaign called "Break The Neck" to combat the rebottling and sale of fake premium alcohol. The campaign encourages people to break the necks of empty bottles to prevent them from being repackaged and sold with cheap liquor. The excise department has formed teams to collect liquor samples and send them for testing. Liquor shopkeepers have been instructed to display campaign posters and action will be taken against shops that do not support the campaign.

Three days after HT reported on the rebottling and sale of fake premium alcohol in Gurugram and Faridabad, the Gurugram excise department launched a campaign called “Break The Neck” in a bid to put an end to the illicit business.

A notice assuring customers of genuine liquor. (HT Photo)

On Friday, an excise official said, “We have formed 20 teams in the east and west zones of Gurugram, and have collected liquor samples from over 200 pubs, bars, and restaurants. Samples have been picked up from liquor shops, and have been sent to labs for testing.”

The campaign aims to promote the practice of breaking the neck of the alcohol bottles once empty, so that they don’t get sold to “traders” who then repackage it and put them back in the market, though with cheap liquor.

“All the ahatas (drinking places) have been directed to break the neck of the bottles once they are empty and to ask the customers to not throw the bottles in open areas. Our teams have also given demos to the salesmen at the liquor vends. We have asked all liquor shopkeepers to display the campaign posters to spread awareness,” said Ravinder Singh, deputy commissioner of excise and taxation, Gurugram (east).

On October 31, HT blew the lid off a booming racket in the Millennium city wherein fraudsters buy used, high-end liquor bottles from scrap dealers, pour cheap whiskey using thick syringes, slap on a new label and a cap, seal it shut and sell it to online vendors, shops, and bars. Haryana deputy CM Dushyant Chautala took cognisance of the report and ordered that special teams be formed to crack down on the counterfeit liquor business in the state. After taking cognisance of the report, the excise department sent teams to all suspected pubs and bars, said Singh. “The sample report will take at least a month,” he said.

Shashank Sangal, who owns the Liquor Forte chain of shops, said his employees have been told to inform all customers about the campaign. “We are circulating the message on social media,” he said.

Meanwhile, Riya Sachdeva, media and marketing head at Lakeforest Wines, said that at their stores they are only selling bottles with approved labels and holograms.

Excise officials said that action will be taken against any liquor shop that does not support the campaign.