Liquor flowing into election-bound Karnataka - officials

With a large quantity of illegal liquor manufactured in different parts of the country beginning to make its way into election-bound Karnataka, the Excise Department officials have been forced to mount an eagle-eyed vigil against its sale and distribution to woo the voters ahead of the polls scheduled to be held later this month.

Ever since the elections were announced, the Excise Department officials have seized more than 50,000 litres of illegal liquor from various parts of the State and confiscated a total of 68 vehicles.

According to Excise Department officials, the bulk of the seizure accounts for Indian Manufactured Liquor (IML) transported to Karnataka from manufacturing units outside the State. “We have seized a total of 45,912 litres of Indian Manufactured Liquor (IML), 3,980 litres of toddy and 280 litres of arrack. We have also arrested 251 persons and booked a total of 328 cases so far”, an official said.

The Excise Department, which has constituted special squads comprising officials from the police and revenue department as well, are maintaining a tight vigil particularly on the state and national highways.

“We have seized huge quantities of illegal liquor in many places including Bangalore, Hassan, Ramanagaram, Belgaum and Tumkur. And in most of the seizures, we have realized that the suppliers are from outside the state. The seized liquor bears the names of manufacturers in north Indian states including Madhya Pradesh, besides Goa and Daman and Diu”, the official said.

“Elections are being held only in Karnataka now. The liquor manufacturers from different parts of the country are transporting the liquor to Karnataka illegally due to the spurt in the demand in view of the elections. The manufacturers are trying to earn big money by sending truckloads of liquor to Karnataka”, the official added.

The specially-constituted squads are conducting raids after receiving information and also on suspicion before seizing the liquor.

The three-phased polls for assembly elections in Karnataka are scheduled to be held on May 10, 16 and 22.