A month after the Malvani hooch tragedy, which claimed over 100 lives, the state excise department bust a country liquor duplication unit close to Maharashtra's borders with Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
Nitin Ghule, superintendent, state excise, Dhule, who also holds charge of Nandurbar district, said based on a tip-off, a team comprising inspectors SA Pathak, DM Chakor and others raided a shut flat in a building at Shirpur in Dhule district on Thursday.
The raid unearthed 3,936 bottles of whiskey of 180ml each, 1,920 bottles of a popular country liquor brand measuring 180ml each, bottling machines, bottle caps and 400 litres of country liquor. An SUV with boxes of duplicate liquor was also seized. The total value of the seizure is Rs9.90 lakh. Ghule said they were on the lookout for the accused.
Maharashtra follows a policy of discouraging liquor consumption through high prices and low sales and has one of the highest excise duty regimes in India. This leads to the brew being smuggled in from neighbouring states and union territories with lower duties — Goa, Daman and Madhya Pradesh. Bootleggers and smugglers also use the state as a transit point while transporting liquor to dry Gujarat, which is under prohibition.
According to the state excise department's figures, wine sales rose by 14.83% in Maharashtra in 2014-15 to end at 58.05 lakh bulk litres as compared to 50.56 lakh bulk litres to the previous fiscal. Beer sales increased by 4.70% to 3,126.48 lakh bulk litres as against 2,986.09 lakh bulk litres in 2013-14, while the comparative figures for Indian Made Foreign Liquor were 1,737.18 lakh bulk litres compared to 1,615.06 (up by 7.56%). The rise in country liquor sales has been muted at just 3.31%, with the state consuming 3,323.34 lakh bulk litres in 2014-15 against 3,216.97 lakh bulk litres earlier. Three districts — Wardha, Gadchiroli and Chandrapur — are under prohibition.
In 2014-15, the state excise department lodged over 42,000 cases in bootlegging, smuggling, duplication and illegal sale and transport.
