Taking on liquor mafia proves deadly for Delhi Police
16 Jan 2015 11:57 PM GMT
Jhangola village in outer Delhi, from where two alleged members of a liquor mafia were arrested on January 12 for shooting a cop, happens to be a crucial part of the illicit liquor zone. “In fact, there are several houses in Jhangola where illicit liquor is produced and distributed across the NCR and also in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana through the highly porous city borders,” said a police official.
He further said that in 2004, a police constable who went for a raid at an illicit liquor unit in outer Delhi’s Mongolpuri was shot dead and then beheaded by alleged bootleggers. The accused were ‘bad characters’ from the area belonging to a community, infamous for its involvement in the illicit liquor business.
“There are illicit liquor zones in eastern Delhi, north-east Delhi, south-east Delhi, south-west Delhi and west Delhi. For the eastern and north-eastern districts, the supply largely comes from Uttar Pradesh. For south-east Delhi, truckloads of hooch come from Faridabad. While, the main source of illicit liquor for west and south-west Delhi is Bahadurgarh in Haryana,” said the police official.
There are more than a 100 pockets in outer Delhi, many of them unknown to people who have migrated from elsewhere, through which bootleggers can make their way to neighbouring region of Uttar Pradesh. And it is not practically possible to deploy police officials in each of such pockets, said the official.
On January 12, when police officials went to Jhangola village to arrest the men who shot dead the police constable, the locals pelted stones at them, injuring one police official. According to a source, this is not the first time the police had to face such a hurdle in an outer Delhi region infamous for illicit liquor trade.
In Delhi-NCR, it’s difficult for the cops in one particular city to have complete control over the menace of illicit liquor. This issue has been discussed several times at inter-state meetings with senior officials in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and other neighbouring states, the official added.
He further said that in 2004, a police constable who went for a raid at an illicit liquor unit in outer Delhi’s Mongolpuri was shot dead and then beheaded by alleged bootleggers. The accused were ‘bad characters’ from the area belonging to a community, infamous for its involvement in the illicit liquor business.
“There are illicit liquor zones in eastern Delhi, north-east Delhi, south-east Delhi, south-west Delhi and west Delhi. For the eastern and north-eastern districts, the supply largely comes from Uttar Pradesh. For south-east Delhi, truckloads of hooch come from Faridabad. While, the main source of illicit liquor for west and south-west Delhi is Bahadurgarh in Haryana,” said the police official.
There are more than a 100 pockets in outer Delhi, many of them unknown to people who have migrated from elsewhere, through which bootleggers can make their way to neighbouring region of Uttar Pradesh. And it is not practically possible to deploy police officials in each of such pockets, said the official.
On January 12, when police officials went to Jhangola village to arrest the men who shot dead the police constable, the locals pelted stones at them, injuring one police official. According to a source, this is not the first time the police had to face such a hurdle in an outer Delhi region infamous for illicit liquor trade.
In Delhi-NCR, it’s difficult for the cops in one particular city to have complete control over the menace of illicit liquor. This issue has been discussed several times at inter-state meetings with senior officials in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and other neighbouring states, the official added.
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