Two held for smuggling liquor through Asola Bhatti sanctuary

Senior forest officials said the patrolling teams seized 11 boxes with over 200 bottles of country liquor, adding that the accused were booked under the Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972).

The Delhi forest department on Tuesday arrested two men for smuggling crates of liquor from Haryana into Delhi, via the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, senior officials said.

Hindustan Times reported in July how smugglers from unauthorised neighbourhoods near the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary was using the forest routes to bring in large quantities of liquor from Haryana to Delhi. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

Senior forest officials said the patrolling teams seized 11 boxes with over 200 bottles of country liquor, adding that the accused were booked under the Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972).

“The accused were produced before the magistrate on Tuesday. They will be booked under the relevant sections of Wildlife Protection Act,” said Amit Anand, deputy conservator forests (south division).

Hindustan Times reported in July how smugglers from unauthorised neighbourhoods near the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary was using the forest routes to bring in large quantities of liquor from Haryana to Delhi. These smugglers have carved out dirt paths through the thick forest to connect illegal liquor vends in Haryana to Sangam Vihar from where it is believed to be further distributed to other localities. Since the rate of liquor in Haryana is lower as compared to Delhi, this is a viable business for many bootleggers in Sangam Vihar area, forest officials said.

Range officer Satyendra Prakash said smugglers have been pulling down boundary walls around the sanctuary to gain access to the liquor vends on the Haryana side. “For the past few days, we have been tracking the movement of motorcycles, but they managed to get away. Today during early morning patrolling, our teams finally caught them,” Prakash said.

Experts said such movement of people and vehicles in a protected forest area is not only dangerous to the safety of animals but can also have a long-term impact on their movement and foraging patterns.