Excise dept seizes spurious liquor worth several lakhs

The District Excise Department of Cooch Behar seized several drums of spurious liquor just before Kali Puja late Saturday night.

Officers of the Excise department, along with district police, conducted raids at various places and seized many drums of spurious liquor worth Rs 10 lakh.

Moreover, Excise department officials raided some other places in Khalasipara in Burdwan as well and seized 18 drums of illicit liquor on Saturday morning.

Interestingly, the land from where the liquor was seized belongs to an old woman. Illicit brewers regularly use it to manufacture hooch.

Raju Rai, a local hooch trader, was arrested on the charge of stocking spurious liquor in his residence at Khalasipara in Burdwan

Last month too, police had raided the same place and seized hooch worth over Rs 1 lakh. Police said there are a few places where, in spite of raids, people regularly prepare country liquor and supply it illegally.

It may be recalled that some places of South 24 Parganas in South Bengal have also been raided by the local police to uncover hooch dens. Police had also recently seized 25 litres of liquor, which was being transported from North 24 Parganas.

In a similar incident, officers of the state Excise department raided hooch dens in Haroa of North 24 Parganas a few weeks ago in the morning. 

The officers destroyed several containers and raw materials, including jaggery, molasses, yeast and other items used in manufacturing hooch. The villagers of Uchildaha and Garkoyati cooperated with the officers in destroyed the items.