11 booked for firing at liquor trader’s house in Rohtak

ROHTAK: Eleven persons were booked for allegedly opening fire at a licensed liquor trader’s house in Behlamba village in Rohtak’s Meham area on Saturday, police said.

The accused have been identified as Subhash, Sanjay, Suresh, Sunil, Dinesh, Ramesh, Lila, Sonu, Vijay, Vicky and Vijay Kumar.

In his complaint, the trader, Balraj alias Bald of Behlamba village, said he had got the tender to run a liquor vend at the village this year. “My brother Balwan had asked one of the accused, Vicky, who was smuggling liquor on his motorcycle on Saturday morning, to not sell liquor illegally in the village. After a verbal spat, the accused took out a sharp-edged weapon and attacked my brother and nephew.” He said that later, a group of 11 persons reached their house and started hurling abuses at them. Two men, Dinesh and Suresh, continuously fired shots at their house, the video of which is now being circulated on social media.

The complainant further said that the accused have been smuggling liquor in the area for a long time and creating hurdles in his business. Assistant sub-inspector Joginder Singh of Meham police station said a case under Sections 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 25 of the Arms Act, 1959, has been registered against the accused. All are absconding.

2 LIQUOR CONTRACTORS KILLED IN LAST MONTH

Two liquor contractors were shot dead by four assailants outside a vend at Sirsa’s Chautala village, on Rajasthan border, last month. The accused, after arrest, confessed that the Lawrence Bishnoi gang was behind the murders.

Vij had also raised the illegal liquor trade issue in 2015

Illegal liquor trade is not new to Haryana. In November 2015, Haryana minister Anil Vij had left the meeting of the district grievances and public relations committee in Fatehabad after a spat with Sangeeta Kalia, the then Fatehabad superintendent of police, as she refused to follow his order to leave the venue following heated exchanges over the alleged illegal liquor trade in Fatehabad. Vij had justified his stand, saying that he was getting complaints of drug mafia and liquor mafia being active in the area, but the police had failed to put a check. However, the officer had refused to leave and even objected to the minister’s manner. Vij then left himself.