Illegal liquor distillery busted in Khanna, 5 held

The police also seized as many as 1,857 cartons of illicit liquor along with machines, vehicles, and ₹5.8 lakh cash

Police on Wednesday raided an illegal liquor distillation plant in Bahomajra village of Khanna and arrested five men. The police also seized as many as 1,857 cartons of illicit liquor along with machines, vehicles, and ₹5.8 lakh cash.

The accused in police custody in Khanna on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

The accused were identified as Harvinder Singh alias Manga Chaddha, Chander Prakash alias Vicky Middha, Jatinder Kumar, Jatinderpal Singh and Maninder Singh, while their one unidentified accomplice is yet to be arrested.

Senior superintendent of police Harpreet Singh said the police have recovered 320 cartons of First Choice label liquor, 93 cartons of 999 whiskey, liquor prepared for 1,444 cartons, 3,800 litre of extra neutral alcohol (ENA) spirit sufficient to produce 950 more cartons of liquor, 8,000 empty bottles, 80 bags of bottle caps, 250 litres of aroma scent and orange colour, two large machines among other small machines, an Innova car, a tractor and a canter from the plant.

“The accused have confessed that they were working for the past around six months, and producing and selling 1,000 bottles of liquor daily,” said the SSP, adding that a case under Sections 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 267 (making or selling false weight or measure) of the Indian Penal Code, Section 61/1/14 of the Excise Act and Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act was registered at the Khanna Sadar police station.