Gujarat is a “dry” state, but some state police officers very definitely aren’t. Action is pending against four police officers who participated in the smuggling of alcohol.
On suspicion of spying on the technical surveillance team of the state’s monitoring cell set up to take action against the bootleggers, two police officers in Bharuch were suspended on Thursday.
For a fee, the suspects provided the liquor mafia, which sources liquor from Madhya Pradesh and other states, with the real-time position of the officers. Monitoring team members were growing frustrated with the raids’ ineffective results. The entire scam was revealed during an investigation, according to an officer. Bharuch SP Leena Patil has placed Mayur and Ashok on administrative leave.
According to sources, further investigation may provide light on the involvement of other police officers in the case. In Gujarat, a superintendent of police is in charge of the State Monitoring Cell (SMC). It has the authority to execute raids on bootleggers or alcohol dens and reports directly to the DGP.
The 15 officials of SMC had their cellphone numbers traced and their whereabouts recorded. In Bharuch, these were distributed to bootleggers at least 600 times. In a separate incident, two constables were detained on Thursday for allegedly smuggling alcohol in the state’s northern Aravalli district.
According to the police, the Himatnagar Local Crime Branch stopped a car with no licence plates. The search turned up a sizable quantity of imported alcohol made in India. Rohitsinh Chauhan and Vijay Parmar, who are both employed by the Aravalli police department, are the primary suspects in the case.
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