Stock of liquor shops to be verified after lockdown in Noida, Ghaziabad
Noida/Ghaziabad: As liquor selling during lockdown is prohibited by government, bootleggers have been drawing up new ways to reach out to market with complaints of selling booze from government liquor shops also being reported from parts of Noida as well as Ghaziabad district. Drinking enthusiasts are paying three to four times more than the maximum retail price and are placing orders through phone.
Even after police and excise department are keeping close watch on any sale of liquor during lockdown, the trade seems affected less as residents know registered shopkeepers and are placing orders. Numbers of online delivery of liquor are floating on social media while residents are getting numbers of local suppliers through word of mouth.
Cops have appealed people not to consume such liquor as this may not only risk their health but might also land them in jail if found in possession of such illegal liquor. However, tipplers are left with no other option but to consume whatever is available to them.
A resident of high rise society in sector 120 of Noida, who works with an MNC said that he is buying alcohol from their known shopkeepers as he is more reliable than any other. "Through some of my friends, I got contact number of a registered liquor shop who is providing liquor during lockdown. He charge three to four times the bottle price," he said.
Noida police have also unearthed a few of these online fraudsters who are duping people on the name of delivering liquor. In past one month, over 20 bootleggers have been arrested from the district for selling and suppling liquor during lockdown while two residents from a high rise society in Noida were also caught purchasing liquor from them.
Taking cognisance to these complaints, the district excise department of both Noida and Ghaziabad district will now cross check the stock of alcohol at the shops.
"We got information from cops that some workers at liquor shops are involved in selling alcohol during lockdown and they are calling people at discrete locations to take the bottles. The excise department will cross verify the stock at all the shops and we have clearly given directions to all the shopkeepers not to sell any liquor till lockdown and if anybody will be found in any irregularities, license of the shop may get cancelled," said Rakesh Bahadur Singh, district excise officer, Gautam Buddh Nagar.
The officer informed that Gautam Buddh Nagar has 481 liquor shops in the district, including 214 for country-made varieties, 115 for foreign brands, 129 for beer and 23 model shops.
