SATISH HANDA ; Nearly 50 persons died after consuming spurious liquor at Panipat, Sonepat and Faridabad in recent past sometime in Haryana against which police registered 27 cases at different police stations in Sonepat and Panipat districts. State Home Minister Anil Vij had ordered investigation by Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising of IPS officers Y. Purankumar, IG Ambala range, Rajesh Duggal, Ganga Ram Poonia and Narender Bijania along with senior officers from Excise & Taxation department led by ADGP (Narcotics) Shrikant Jaghav. The team has already submitted 300 pages report supported by nearly 2000 documents in which question was raised on the working of nearly half dozen IPS rank police officers as well as senior Excise & Taxation department. Sources reveal, over 350 government officers from the rank of police constable to IPS officers have been trapped in the case likely to face action as regard illegal production of Desi liquor at several places in the state as well as huge smuggling of liquor to other states in past one year, besides police took no action beyond truck drivers to arrest liquor mafias when nearly 50000 cases of wines was seized during smuggling to other states.
SIT report has yet to be submitted to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khatter and Home Minister Anil Vij by Home Secretary Rajiv Arora with his remarks for further action on this vital issue in which not only nearly 50 persons consumed spurious liquor lost lives, large number of persons detected illegally preparing Desi liquor in residential premises, godowns and even in sick industrial units as a result state government suffered heavy revenue loss as well as due to huge quantity of illicit liquor illegally smuggled to Bihar, Gujarat, U.P, Jharkhand and other states. Information reveals, the report accuses several police and excise department officers responsible for neglects and lack of support during SIT investigation, Information furthers revealed, huge quantity of Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA) was illegally brought from Mumbai, Rajpura in Punjab and Bhopal in M.P to manufacture illicit Desi liquor at Sonepat, Panipat and other places in Haryana state.
Meanwhile, on a clue Sonepat police arrested Vijay Kumar a scientific goods trader at Ambala Cantt used to manufacture hand sanitizer for on-line sale and during raid recovered huge stocks of ENA from his godown. He admitted procured ENA from Mumbai to manufacture hand sanitizer but failed to get orders and supplied ENA stocks at Sonepat, Panipat, Yamunanagar, Rohtak and Palwal. Panipat police recently arrested a wine trader Ajit Singh alias Jeeta in wine business since past 15 years having eight liquor vends at Panipat in the name of Ajit & Company. During police remand, he admitted smuggled liquor in Bihar of value worth Rs 100 crore in past two and half years. He also admitted smuggling 15-20 trucks illicit liquor containing 500 cases in each every month to Gopalganj, Seewan, Sitamadi, Samastipur and Darbhanga districts in Bihar.
