Seven arrested in Muzaffarnagar for allegedly selling cheap liquor as branded booze

A gang allegedly involved in filling cheap liquor into empty bottles of branded English liquor and selling them at high prices has been exposed in Muzaffarnagar. Kotwali Nagar police and the Special Operations Group (SOG) team arrested seven accused in connection with the case.

Police recovered 210 filled liquor bottles, 99 empty bottles, 398 caps, fake wrappers, packing material, five mobile phones and three cars allegedly used to supply the liquor. The recovered vehicles include a WagonR, a Swift Dzire and a Nexon.

According to police, the action was carried out on 25 October beneath the railway line bridge near Rampur Tiraha as part of a campaign against the manufacture and sale of illegal liquor. The campaign is being conducted under the direction of Senior Superintendent of Police Suraj Kumar Rai. A joint team of Kotwali Nagar police and the SOG arrested all seven accused at the spot.

Police said the accused purchased empty bottles of brands such as Jameson, Black Label and Red Label from scrap dealers. They allegedly filled these bottles with cheap liquor and used a heat dryer to fit the caps. The bottles were then packed with fake wrappers and in cartons of branded companies.

The prepared bottles were allegedly sold by presenting them as genuine branded liquor. Police said the bottles were supplied at high prices in various districts. The accused allegedly made large profits from the illegal business, while the government suffered a loss of revenue.

Apart from the 210 filled bottles and 99 empty bottles, police recovered 398 caps and four wrappers from the accused. Other seized items include a heat dryer, a carton packing machine, syringes, tape, clip-fitting tools and other packing material.

The three cars seized by police were being used for the supply of the liquor. These are one WagonR, one Swift Dzire and one Nexon.

The arrested accused have been identified as Amit and Rakesh, residents of Samalkha in Panipat, Haryana; Mehtab, a resident of Daurala in Meerut; Dheeraj, a resident of Shamli; Ramprakash, a resident of Sultanpur and currently residing in Chandigarh; Hardeep Singh, a resident of Shamli; and Kuldeep, a resident of Titawi in Muzaffarnagar.

Police have registered a case against the accused at Kotwali Nagar under Sections 60/63/72 of the Excise Act and the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The police are now investigating the alleged gang’s other members, the sources from which the liquor was supplied and the buyers who purchased it. During questioning, the accused allegedly told police that they had earlier supplied liquor in this manner to various districts as well.

The operation was carried out by the police and SOG team under the leadership of SP City Amrit Jain, ASP/CO City Siddharth K. Mishra and Kotwali Nagar in-charge Brijesh Kumar Sharma.

Report by Anmol Kumar, Muzaffarnagar.