Excise dept seizes expired beer bottle served at Chandigarh’s JW Marriott

A team of the excise and taxation department seized a 355ml bottle of Corona beer that was past its expiry date, but was still served to a Sector-33 resident, Gurpal Singh (45), at the JW Marriot Hotel, Sector 35, on Sunday night

A team of the excise and taxation department seized a 355ml bottle of Corona beer that was past its expiry date, but was still served to a Sector-33 resident, Gurpal Singh (45), at the JW Marriot Hotel, Sector 35, on Sunday night.

A team of the excise and taxation department seized a 355ml bottle of Corona beer that was past its expiry date, but was still served to a Sector-33 resident. (HT File)

The complainant had organised a party and had ordered beer that he claimed tasted strange.

“As I drank the first sip, I felt the taste to be different than usual. After I drank two bottles, I did not feel comfortable,” said Gurpal, a businessman.

“When the waiter bought the third bottle of beer, I asked him to show the bottle to me. I was shocked to see that the bottle had a expiry date of September 17, 2016 and we were being served the same, even a week later. When I objected, the staff made excuses and offered several other inducements. However, I informed the police,” Gurpal added.

The police control room was informed at 12am and Sector-36 SHO Naseeb visited the hotel with his team.

Gurpal told HT, “The hotel staff did not give me the bill. Later, after the SHO intervened, I was given the bill, where beer was not on the list. The staff claimed the beer was complimentary. Finally, I was given a separate bill for beer, after the police intervened.”

When phoned for comments, hotel owner Harpal Singh refused to comment. Later, he did not respond to text messages sent on his number.

Manish Singh, director for restaurants and lounge, JW Marriot said Gurpal Singh had not been refused any bill.