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Three held for illegally supplying liquor to night clubs
Three arrested for supplying liquor to nightclubs on MG Road without excise permit. 400 beer bottles recovered. Investigations ongoing to prevent illegal activities in nightclubs.
Three persons were arrested on Friday night for allegedly transporting and supplying liquor to night clubs on MG Road without any excise permit, police said, adding that they have recovered at least 400 beer bottles that were meant to be supplied to clubs.
The beer cases were loaded in two autorickshaws and were being taken to Sahara Mall where at least five night clubs are operational, police said.
The suspects were identified as Ramdev Yadav, Krishan Kumar Yadav and Ibrahim of Gurugram.
Acting on a tip-off, Sector 29 police caught the two autos from near Sahara Mall around 10.30pm on Friday night and also informed the excise department.
Pawan Malik, station house officer, Sector 29 police station, said when they questioned the suspects, they revealed that they were asked to deliver the consignment to Sahara Mall but they could not furnish any excise permit to carry the alcohol.
“They were arrested from the spot and later were granted bail after joining investigations. We are conducting further investigations to ensure that no illegal activities are carried out in night clubs on MG Road,” he said.
Two different cases were registered at Sector 29 police station under section 61(1)(a) of the Punjab Excise Act, 1914 (Haryana Amendment Bill, 2020) at the Sector 29 police station on Friday night.
A retired excise officer, requesting anonymity, said 48 cases are the minimum quota for a year that L-4&L-5 licence holders (bars) has to lift. “This is consumed within a week and bar owners purchase 90% of the liquor from the grey market causing a huge lose to the exchequer. Whenever police or excise seize illegal liquor, they do not investigate the source from where it is procured. Police do not arrest pub owners and FIRs are lodged only against two or three staffers of the pub or the transporter,” he said.
Any outlet serving liquor has to buy liquor stock via a travel permit but many establishments are buying from the grey market, said police.
Excise officials said they will check the liquor stock of all outlets at Sahara Mall to ascertain the volume of bottles that has been bought from outside the market.
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