Police plan to invoke CCA against liquor smuggler
RANCHI:Two months after six people died due to consumption of spurious liquor in Hatma area, the supply of the deadly brew continues, with carriers finding ingenious methods to transport liquor into the city.
The police plans to book the offenders under the Crime Control Act (CCA), in order to create deterrence.
On Tuesday, one woman was nabbed with 50 litres of spurious liquor, barely 300 metres from Sukhdeo Nagar police station. Officer-in-charge, Nawal Kishore Singh said that she was carrying the liquor in several football rubber tubes.
“In the face of police action, liquor suppliers are now transporting liquor in vehicle and football tubes. The illegal liquor made by liquor mafia was transported across the state capital through women on share-auto rickshaws and cycle-rickshaws,” he said.
Police sources said that 50 litres of the liquor fetched anything between Rs 1200-Rs 1500. The owners of liquor den in the state capital sold this to tipplers at their own price.
Singh said that Section 7A of the state excise act was invoked against those found transporting liquor.
“This pertained to evasion of excise revenue, and was a relatively minor offence. The arrested were thus let-off with a mild sentence or fine, or both,” he added.
In September last year, 13 people, including three Jharkhand Armed Police personnel (JAP) and a volleyball coach had died after consuming spurious liquor being sold in and around the JAP campus in Doranda. In a replay of the tragedy, half-a-dozen people died at Hatma after consuming spurious liquor on September 30.
Following the incident, police
cracked the whip against the liquor mafia, and arrested several people. Senior superintendent of police, Anish Gupta had directed officer-in-charges of all police stations to compile a list of suspected members of the liquor mafia.
But, in the face of continuous smuggling of illegal liquor in the state capital, police are now devising a new strategy. Gupta said that a list of the people having previous record of being involved in the business of spurious
liquor was prepared. Police was also keeping a strict vigil on outskirts areas like Kanke, Namkum, Ratu, Hundru and Nagri, which are the key areas of liquor mafia.
“Under Section 3 of the Crime Control Act anti-social elements found involved in the illegal liquor trade will be externed from the district,” he said.
Gupta said the provision would also be invoked against miscreants who smuggled or transported the illegal brew.