SET holds state excise officials guilty of inaction

SEIZURE PROBES Says despite having powers to investigate, department didn’t do so

CHANDIGARH: Indicating inaction by Haryana excise and taxation officials in investigation of cases involving large seizures of illegal liquor, the special enquiry team (SET), formed to inquire into the instances of liquor pilferage from warehouses, in its report said that despite having powers to investigate, the department did not do so.

During an interactive session with SET, the excise and taxation commissioner (ETC), Shekhar Vidyarthi, on June 27 said that deputy excise and taxation commissioners (excise) posted in districts were vested with the powers of collector to investigate such seizures and were fully responsible for investigation as per the requirement of the case. “In cases of big seizures, the details are also sent to the collector at the head office. Normally, the collector follows up the large detections though excise and taxation commissioner is also apprised. However, the ETC admitted no such investigation of illegal liquor confiscated in the field is being done by the excise department,” said the inquiry report submitted to home minister Anil Vij.

Quoting an instance, the SET report said one such huge detection was reported by Sonepat DETC (excise) in February 2019 whose details were also sent to the ETC office. “Since no action was taken by the ETC office, Sonepat DETC simply kept on issuing notices in that case and did not finalise the proceedings until May 2020 when that case came into limelight after the Kharkhauda-Matindoo godown fiasco wherein FIR was registered by police on May 5,” the report said.