Abohar:- A truck-trailer loaded with Punjab brand English liquor being transported from Ludhiana to Gujarat via Rajasthan, which was plying without any permit or license, has been seized near village Dhirdesar on Bharatmala Project route in Hanumangarh.
It is noteworthy that there is a joint check post of the District Transport Department, Police and Excise Department near Sangaria on the interstate border, 225 km from Ludhiana. This truck crossed this check post without any inspection and entered the Bharatmala Project road. If the truck had been checked at the interstate border and its consignment note had been asked, the liquor could have been seized there. Due to this negligence, Punjab has also suffered a huge loss in excise duty.
Hanumangarh Superintendent of Police Hari Shankar said that a joint team of Pallu police station and District Special Team (DST) stopped a truck-trailer on Bharatmala Project Road on suspicion. On search, a total of 1503 boxes of English liquor of Royal Challenge, Royal Stag and All Season brands were recovered from the truck. The truck driver, Prakash Kumar Bishnoi (22), a resident of Wadania, Jalore district, has been arrested and a case has been registered against him under the Excise Act. According to police sources, Prakash Bishnoi was lured by liquor smugglers to pay a small amount for transporting the consignment from Ludhiana to Gujarat. In Ludhiana, some people took Prakash's truck to an unknown place and later returned it loaded with liquor. On reaching near the Rajasthan-Gujarat border, Prakash was to get further instructions on where to deliver the truck. The police have found a suspicious number on Prakash's mobile, which is being tracked to trace the smugglers.
The investigation revealed that the seized liquor was manufactured in Punjab, but the original batch mark was removed from the bottles and fake labels were put on them. Initial investigation indicates that the smugglers from Gujarat had approached a contractor from Punjab to order such a large quantity of illicit liquor.
The most surprising aspect of this case is that there was nothing else in the truck except the liquor crates. The liquor was not being transported under the guise of any other goods. The driver did not have any bill or document of any kind. What is even more surprising is that the truck, which left for Rajasthan from Ludhiana, was neither asked about the consignment note nor was it checked at any flying squad or check post in Punjab.