The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Excise raid at restaurant in Kovalam; 3 held

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 27, 2005

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Excise raid at restaurant in Kovalam; 3 held

Staff Reporter

20 bottles of beer, one litre of IMFL seized

Thiruvananthapuram: The Excise Department on Sunday raided a seaside restaurant at Kovalam and arrested three employees on the charge of selling liquor and beer without bar licence.

The accused were identified as Ratheesh, Binu and Deepu. They were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Neyyattinkara, and remanded to 14 days in judicial custody. The Excise Department has also made the owner of the restaurant building, Benedict Wilfred, accused in the case. He was yet to be arrested.

The Excise team led by Assistant Commissioner E. Shahabudeen raided the restaurant in the early hours of Sunday. Twenty bottles of beer and one litre of Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) were seized from the restaurant. The team recovered scores of empty beer and liquor bottles as evidence. Nearly Rs.18,000, suspected to be the proceeds from the illegal sale of liquor, was recovered from the restaurant counter. Mr. Shahabudeen said the raid was conducted without disturbing foreign tourists who were at the hotel.

Scores of seaside restaurants at Kovalam serve beer and liquor without licence. It is feared that the unregulated sale could result in consumers, including foreign tourists, consuming liquor of dubious quality during New Year. The Excise Department said building owners who rent their premises for restaurants selling liquor without licence would also be booked.

The illegal sale of liquor at seaside restaurants at Kovalam is allegedly taking place with the tacit approval of corrupt elements in the local police department. Sources said that managers of such restaurants allegedly pay upto Rs.5,000 to local police officials to evade enforcement.

According to prevalent liquor laws, foreign tourists can stock and consume beer in their rooms. However, no sale of beer or consumption of beer is allowed in restaurants without bar licence.

According to Excise Department officials, liquor is served even after midnight in certain bar hotels at Kovalam in violation of bar licence conditions. "The method of operation is to close the bar by 11 p.m. and continue serving liquor in restaurants and lawns," an official said.

The sale of ganja and brown sugar is also rampant at Kovalam. This year, the Excise Department had seized 10 kg of ganja and a small amount of brown sugar suspected to be meant for retail at Kovalam.

In view of the New Year's Eve celebration, the police have decided to step-up vigilance at Kovalam. On New Year's Eve, the police will check vehicles at various points along the National Highway bypass from Kovalam to Eenchakkal junction.

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