E-Paper
Ambala police bust interstate illegal liquor supply, six arrested
Investigation reveals that the raw material was being taken from Madhya Pradesh to Chandigarh for processing and further supply to other states
Almost a month after the CIA-1 unit of the Ambala police seized a truck with 25,000 litres of extra neutral alcohol (ENA), the investigators after arresting six accused have established that it was being taken from Bhind in Madhya Pradesh to Chandigarh for processing and further supply to other states.
The crime came to light on June 25, when the CIA unit working on a tip-off, impounded the truck with Amritsar registration number at a naka set up near Shahapur village and apprehended the driver, Chandan Bharti, a resident of Gauriganj in Uttar Pradesh.
Police said that the driver showed some documents of M/S Vinayak Distilleries Private Limited, Chandigarh, but failed to show any permit or pass and failed to justify the word “sanitizer” written on a receipt issued by Baba Deep Singh Cargo in Amritsar.
The next day, Chandan was booked along with two prime accused, Parth Sharma and Satbir Singh, alias Satta, under the IPC and the Punjab Excise Act (Haryana Amendment). He was sent to seven-day police remand.
Series of arrests
In the past one month, the police have arrested five other accused from Madhya Pradesh, Chandigarh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and other states. During the police remand, Chandan revealed the involvement of his fellow villager, Anil Kumar, who was arrested on June 29 and taken into remand.
Sub-inspector (SI) Vinod Kumar, the investigating officer in the case, said that as the probe unfolded, they arrested the manager of Gwalior Distilleries in Bhind, Raj Kumar, and later his counterpart of Vinayak Distilleries in Chandigarh, Atul, and the pattern was established.
“Recently, we apprehended one of the prime accused, Parth Sharma, from Varanasi and the owner of the Vinayak Distilleries, Uday Pal, from Amritsar. Both of them are currently under police remand. Owner of the Gwalior Distilleries, Sunil Yadav, is still absconding,” the SI said.
Kumar further added that the other co-conspirator, Satbir Singh, alias Satta, has taken a stay on his arrest till July 30 through an anticipatory bail application moved at the Punjab and Haryana high court.
Modus operandi
The 25,000 litres of this raw material from Bhind was to be converted into 75,000 litres of illegal alcohol at Chandigarh and was to be supplied to UP, Jharkhand, Arunachal and Chandigarh, police said.
SI Kumar said that the duo (Parth and Satta) had been earlier dealing in illegal liquor and conspired to convert ENA into alcohol during the lockdown last year. “Earlier, a similar truck was seized at Satta’s filling station in Shahabad,” he added.
DSP (Cantt) Ram Kumar said that the CIA unit has busted this interstate illegal liquor gang and a thorough investigation is underway to arrest all those involved.
