Hyderabad: DGP Anjani Kumar stresses on coordination to check liquor smuggling

Hyderabad: State DGP Anjani Kumar has asked State Police, Excise, Railways and Transport Departments to work in coordination to check the liquor smuggling coming to Telangana State from the border and northern States. The DGP held a review meeting at his office on the prevention of illegal liquor supply from other States to Telangana State. State Prohibition and Excise Commissioner Sarfraz Ahmed, Additional DG Railways Shivdhar Reddy, CID ADG Mahesh Bhagwat, Law and Order ADG Sanjay Kumar Jain, IG Shah Nawaz Kasim, Intelligence DIG Karthikeya and others attended the meeting.

Anjani Kumar said that illegal liquor manufacturing and Gudumba (illicitlydistilled liquor) have been prevented in the State. However, the illegal transportation of liquor from other States was reported recently. He warned strict action is being taken against smugglers of illegal liquor on the basis of the information provided by the police and excise wings.He sought the cooperation of Railway police also.

CID Additional DG Mahesh Bhagwat revealed that 27,883 cases have been registered against illegal liquor in Telangana since 2014. He said that cases have been registered against 161 people who smuggle liquor from other states.

Non-duty paid liquor is being illegally transported to Telangana mainly from Delhi, Chandigarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh. The PD Act has also been imposed on 15 people who often commit illegalities.

Prohibition and Excise Commissioner Sarfraz Ahmed said that due to the difference in prices, illegal liquor is coming from Goa, Haryana and Chandigarh. It has become an organized crime and having a significant impact on the revenue of the State. Tourists from Karnataka and Goa states were bringing liquor illegally and it is coming through inter-state buses and tourist vehicles. In addition to this, it was explained that there is also a problem on the Nagpur-Ballarsha and Nizamabad railway lines. Police, Transport, Railway Police and State Police have been asked to work together to prevent this illegal liquor traffic. Intelligence DIG Karthikeya said that along with the border States, they have identified those who transport illegal liquor from Punjab, Chandigarh, Goa, Delhi and other states and prepared a list of them.

Excise Department Joint Commissioner Syed Qureshi, RPF Commandant Debosmita Banerjee, Railways SP Sheikh Salima, SPs Vijay Kumar, Venkateshwarlu, Snigdareddy and others participated in this meeting.