3 more excise godowns on STF radar

THE DOCUMENTS OF THESE THREE GODOWNS WOULD ALSO BE CHECKED TO MATCH THE STOCK AND THE TAX INVOICES

Three more excise godowns are on the radar of the UP special task force (STF) for allegedly storing liquor illegally supplied out of a Saharanpur distillery, evading taxes and excise duties, said senior police officials privy to the investigation.

This development comes after STF on Wednesday claimed to have unravelled a nexus of employees and transporters of the Saharanpur distillery, excise distributors, as well as excise officials, allegedly involved in evading taxes and excise duties by fraudulently releasing trucks of liquor cartons and supplying them in the open market to earn extra profits, according to STF officials. Eight people were arrested in connection with the matter.

The STF teams raided the office of UP Cooperative Company Ltd, Tipri, Saharanpur and an excise godown in Unnao on Wednesday, seizing a huge amount of liquor illegally supplied out of the distillery.

STF additional superintendent of police (ASP) Vishal Vikram Singh, who is leading the investigation, said there was similar information about irregularities in storing liquor illegally supplied out of the Saharanpur distillery in Kanpur, Sambhal and Banda (excise) godowns. He said the documents of these three godowns would also be checked to match the stock and the tax invoices.

He said those behind the nexus were involved in evading taxes and excise duties by fraudulently releasing trucks of liquor cartons and supplying them in the open market to earn extra profits.

He said Saharanpur distillery unit head Upendra Govind Rao, distillery bottling incharge Hari Sharan Tewari, bottling supervisor Mange Ram Tyagi, quality controller Sanjay Sharma, barcoding computer operator Pradeep Rathi, chemist (IMFL) Arvind Kumar Singh, transporter Jai Bhagwan Sharma and truck driver Gulsher were arrested from Saharanpur in this connection.

ASP explained that the nexus evaded taxes and excise duty worth around ₹32 lakh on one truck and, going by this calculation, they evaded ₹6-8 crore every month as over 20 trucks were similarly released fraudulently every month.

ASP also said the distillery people got two days’ delivery time for short distance districts and four-day in long distance districts.

He said the distillery employees released two trucks of liquor on one invoice and delivered these two trucks within the delivery time of four days to long-distance districts like Unnao from Saharanpur.