Huge consignment of liquor seized; one arrested

Huge consignment of liquor and the accused in police custody.

The Hitavada State Bureau ;

RAIPUR/MAHASAMUND,

Mahasamund Police on Tuesday caught a man with 100 boxes of liquor worth Rs 5 lakh smuggled from Madhya Pradesh. Police also seized a Fortuner SUV and one SX4 car. Superintendent of Police Prafulla Kumar Thakur had directed the subordinate officials to keep an eye out for the liquor smuggled from other states. On his direction, ASP Megha Temburkar Sahu heightened up the vigil.

In the meantime, SP Mahasamund received an intelligence report about a large consignment of liquor from other State to Mahasamund. On the direction of ASP and SDO Police Mahasamund Narad Kumar Suryawanshi, City Kotwali Sher Singh Bande formed a team and on the night of June 29 Kotwali team set up picket points at every entry point to Mahasamund. At around 10 pm, a team at Ghodari Bridge learned about two suspected vehicles heading Mahasamund. A barricade were set-up at Belsonda Railway cross to stop these vehicles from safety point of view as seen in past that the smugglers don’t shy away from running over the police personnel.

Since the railway cross has a sharp turn, vehicles have to slow down at this barricading, and as the Fortuner car CG-04-HE-0003 was stopped, police surrounded it. Second vehicle, a SX4 attempted to escape by taking U-turn, but police grabbed them too. However, driver managed to flee from the spot taking advantage of the darkness.

Police took a youth identified as Jayant Banjare, resident of Camp1 Bhilai, into custody. Police seized 60 boxes of made in MP Goa brand liquor from Fortuner whereas 40 boxes were seized from SX4 MH-14-BC-1151. Banjare told police that they were supposed to meet a man at Hadaband flyover and then that man would have taken them to the spot where the consignment was to be delivered. A Case under Section 34 (2) of Excise Act was registered by City Kotwali Police.