Man held for illegal home delivery of Haryana liquor at Noida high-rises

The average cost of liquor in Haryana is lower than that in Uttar Pradesh. The UP government has banned sale and consumption of illegally imported liquor in the state to check loss of revenue. Hence, liquor smuggling is rampant, said the excise official

The Noida excise department arrested a 40-year-old Faridabad resident for allegedly illegally supplying Haryana liquor to Noida and Greater Noida’s high-rise societies and upscale localities, officials said on Wednesday.

The suspect, identified as Anurag Bhatia, a resident of Sector 21, Faridabad, was arrested from Phase-2 Noida. (HT Photo)

Subodh Kumar, district excise officer, said they received information that a person was involved in liquor smuggling. “On Tuesday, we received information that the person will be visiting Noida in a car. We informed the local Phase-2 police station and set up barriers and stopped a Haryana registered Hyundai i20 car for checking. We found 40 beer bottles and 20 bottles of whiskey which included Black Label, Red Label, Magic Moment Lemon, Blenders Pride, etc. The liquor was made for sale in Haryana only. The suspect, identified as Anurag Bhatia, a resident of Sector 21, Faridabad, was arrested from Phase-2 Noida,” he said.

The average cost of liquor in Haryana is lower than that in Uttar Pradesh. The UP government has banned sale and consumption of illegally imported liquor in the state to check loss of revenue. Hence, liquor smuggling is rampant, said the excise official.

The police team impounded the car and seized the liquor from the suspect. During interrogation, Bhatia revealed that he was in contact with a Faridabad based liquor vendor who supplied him the bottles. He was also in contact with people in Noida and Greater Noida who bought Haryana liquor from him.

“Bhatia used to procure liquor from Faridabad and would bring it to Noida either in his car, or through a porter service. He has been active since the past two years and his client list includes residents of Noida and Greater Noida,” said the officer.

He added that Bhatia used to take a commission for the doorstep delivery of liquor.

“Bhatia created a social media group with his trusted clients where they could place orders for the brands of liquor and amount required. He would connect with new clients through word of mouth. During investigation, it was found that Bhatia would only take orders if they were placed in English. He has been earlier booked for smuggling liquor in Noida last year, and has another similar case registered against him in Delhi,” said the district excise officer.

He added that the excise team is also investigating Bhatia’s clients. “We are yet to ascertain how many clients Bhatia had in Noida and Greater Noida, but as per preliminary reports, Bhatia was delivering liquor to at least 50 households in the twin cities.”

The officer said a case was registered against Bhatia under relevant sections of Excise Act. “He was produced in court and sent to judicial custody,” he said.