Chandrapur, 4 May (IANS). The local crime branch (LCB) in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra has seized 350 boxes of fake liquor from an Eicher vehicle in Chimur taluka. This action is part of the ongoing campaign against smuggling of fake liquor.
The police have seized goods worth about Rs 1.09 crore in recent times, including a large part of fake liquor. This business of smuggling via Chandrapur is flourishing rapidly due to liquor ban in Gadchiroli, causing heavy losses to the state’s revenue.
BJP leader and MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar appealed to raise the issue in the assembly. He has demanded strict action from the Home and Excise Department to take strict action against fake liquor smugglers.
He said that last year the state government had set a target of getting revenue of Rs 30,500 crore from excise duty, but only Rs 22,500 crore could be deposited. In this way, the reduction of Rs 7,000 crore has put a big burden on the state treasury. Trafficking of fake liquor is not only causing financial damage, but it is also becoming a serious threat to public health. Consumption of fake alcohol is increasing the risk of kidney failure, paralysis and other serious diseases.
He has demanded strict action against Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar against fake liquor smugglers. Mungantiwar said that smuggling of fake liquor not only is stolen the state’s revenue, but it is also playing with the health of the people. This is a serious crime. He suggested that half of the punishment should be given to the caught trafficking vehicles as rewards, so that people are motivated to prevent such activities.
Mungantiwar also told that many times women catch smuggling vehicles, but the opposite case is registered against them. He advocated withdrawing the cases of such women and said that strict laws should be enacted against smugglers. He proposed that smugglers should be imprisoned under strict laws like MPDA, so that they are afraid of committing such crimes in future.
To prevent smuggling of fake liquor, Mungantiwar emphasized strict monitoring and need for new laws. He said that smugglers feel that they will not suffer much even once caught, because they earn manifold profits. Therefore, it is necessary to take drastic steps to deal with this problem.
At the same time, the police and administration are now preparing to take more strictness in this direction. To eliminate smuggling of fake liquor from the root, there is a need to intensify the legal actions along with public awareness.
-IANS
AKS/EkDe
