Shailendra Srivatstava
Buxar : On Sunday night, the Excise Department uncovered a liquor smuggling operation on the New Veer Kunwar Singh Bridge during a vehicle-checking drive. A pickup van, which was stopped at the check post under suspicious circumstances, was searched, leading to the recovery of a large consignment of Haryana-made Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL).
A total of 844.20 litres of foreign liquor packed in 95 cartons was recovered from the vehicle. The market value of the seized liquor is estimated to be around ₹10 lakh. Two alleged smugglers were arrested at the spot, and the pickup van was also seized. The seized vehicle is reportedly privately owned and had “Dak Parcel” (postal parcel) written on it.
Excise Superintendent Ashraf Jamal said the operation was carried out under the leadership of Sub-Inspector Prince Kumar. During the vehicle-checking drive, the postal parcel vehicle was stopped on suspicion. After liquor was recovered during the search, both occupants of the vehicle were arrested.
The arrested accused have been identified as Navdeep Singh, son of Gurmeet Singh, a resident of B-5/152, Civil Hospital Road, under Kumkala police station in Ludhiana district, Punjab, and Inder Kumar, son of Pradeep Singh, a resident of 536 Pakka Darwaza, Punjab.
During interrogation, the accused reportedly revealed that the liquor had been brought from Jalandhar, Punjab, and was being transported for delivery to Purnea, Bihar.
The Excise Department has initiated legal action against both accused. The seized liquor and pickup van have been taken into custody, and further investigation is underway to identify other people linked to the smuggling network.
