Vadodara, May 21 Liquor valued at Rs 59 lakh seized from various police stations under DCP Zone-1 was destroyed by crushing it under a road roller in the Koyali area of the city.
The action was taken following the Vadodara court order permitting the disposal of confiscated liquor stored at police stations in Gorwa, Nandesari, Jawahar Nagar, Fatehganj, Sayajigunj, Laxmipura, and Chhani. The destroyed stock included hundreds of bottles of Indian and foreign-made liquor.
Senior officials, including the local Mamlatdar, were present during the operation. The liquor was laid out on the road, and a road roller was driven over the bottles, reducing them to shards and foam in a symbolic crackdown on illegal liquor trade.
Gujarat's stringent prohibition laws have led to frequent seizures and public destruction of illicit liquor across the state.
These actions aim to deter illegal alcohol trade and uphold the state's commitment to being a 'dry' region.
In December 2024, Valsad police destroyed over 7.19 lakh bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) worth Rs 10 crore as part of a Swachh Bharat drive.
Similarly, in October 2021, Ahmedabad authorities crushed 12,384 IMFL bottles valued at Rs 73 lakh using a road roller in the Gota area.
Vadodara city police, in January 2022, demolished 60,003 bottles and cans of IMFL worth Rs 1.07 crore, seized from four police stations over a year.
However, these measures have not entirely curbed the illicit liquor menace. In July 2022, a tragic incident in the Botad district resulted in at least 42 deaths and over 97 hospitalisations due to methanol poisoning from spurious liquor.
Investigations revealed that the toxic alcohol was illegally sourced and distributed by bootleggers, leading to multiple arrests.
In October 2021, Kamrej police discovered 3,221 IMFL bottles in a Surat sub-jail, with 1,678 bottles traced back to a batch supposedly destroyed under a road roller in August that year. This incident prompted the Gujarat High Court to order a probe into the matter.
--IANS
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