Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Illegal sale of liquor rampant in city

Thiruvananthapuram: Illegal sale of liquor is widespread in the district on prohibition days. The Government has notified 16 days a year, including the first of every month, as ‘dry’ days.

A segment of bar hotel owners sell liquor bottles (as parcels) at exaggerated rates on such days. The profitable racket is allegedly done with the connivance of certain corrupt elements in the Excise department.

On Tuesday, which was a ‘dry day’ on account of Sree Narayana Guru Jayanthi, at least a few bar hotels in the city were selling Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) bottles. Prohibition activists said the illegal sale continued well past midnight, particularly in rural areas.

The bottles sold on ‘dry’ days are mostly those without the Excise Commissioner’s holographic security seal. IMFL bottles are also sold with their seals torn off to ensure the anonymity of the bar licensee. The activists alleged that Excise inspections at bars and toddy shops are predictably regular and surprise checks rare.

The Excise Intelligence wing was informed of the rampant illegal sale on Tuesday. A senior Excise official told The Hindu that he had sent his men to verify the information. “They reported that the illegal sales had stopped by 10 p.m.,” he said.

The official said he could not confirm whether the bottles sold were fake IMFL or “seconds” bottles sourced directly from other State distilleries without paying Excise (100 per cent) and Sales Tax (90 per cent) duties.

Aneesh, secretary of the Kerala Bar Hotel Owners Association, said no bar owner will risk losing his valuable license by selling liquor for negligible profit on ‘dry’ days. He said bar owners who broke the law are in the minority. Several of them have caught their own security staff selling liquor, sourced in advance from nearby Government outlets, on dry days. Assistant Excise Commissioner (Thiruvananthapuram) Rajendran Asari said he was not aware of Tuesday’s illegal sale. His unit had seized nearly 6,000 litres of spirit, 1,210 litres of contraband liquor and 51,000 litres of wash during the Onam enforcement period. Surprise checks were carried out at bars and toddy shops. Fifteen vehicles were seized and 109 persons arrested.

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