Andhra cops line up liquor bottles for destruction, crowd goes crazy in looting frenzy. Watch

What began as a routine destruction drive of seized liquor bottles in Andhra Pradesh quickly devolved into chaos when locals began to loot the bottles.

What began as a routine destruction drive of seized liquor bottles in Andhra Pradesh quickly devolved into chaos when locals saw the opportunity to score free alcohol and began to loot the bottles. Footage that has gone viral online shows a large crowd in Guntur running to grab liquor bottles that cops had lined up for a PR shoot before the destruction drive.

Guntur Police tries to stop crowd from looting alcohol bottles. (X/@error040290)

The crowd braved lathis and bashings from Guntur police to grab the liquor bottles, the viral video shows.

Here’s what happened

Acting on the instructions of Guntur SP S. Satish Kumar, police in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh on Monday lined up seized alcohol bottles at the Nalla Cheruvu dumping yard. The bottles, worth over ₹50 lakh, had been seized during the Assembly Elections.

The cops had planned to destroy the liquor bottles. However, locals who got wind of the news descended upon the spot and tried to grab the bottles and run.

A viral video shows policemen trying in vain to stop the locals from running away with the liquor. When their pleas fell on deaf ears, cops resorted to beating the unruly crowd with lathis.

However, many even braved lathis for the opportunity to grab free alcohol. One person was even seen trying to negotiate with the cops.

The police did manage to make at least a few people return the bottles - some were seen meekly keeping them back. An investigation has been ordered to identify the men who managed to steal the bottles.

The footage sparked much amusement on social media, where it has been watched millions of times. “Last guy literally debated two police officers and convinced them to allow him to leave with the bottle,” wrote one X user. “Locals thought they had organised a liquor langar,” another quipped. An X user called it an example of “When life is stranger than fiction.”