14,200 Litres Of Illicit Mahua Liquor Seized, 12 Furnaces Destroyed In Bhopal

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Bhopal rural police and excise department conducted a major joint operation at Tarawali Dera in Berasia area early Tuesday morning and seized 14,200 litres of illegally manufactured mahua liquor. Twelve illegal distillation furnaces were also found and destroyed.

SP Rural Pankaj Kumar Pandey said acting on a tip-off, a joint team raided the area before dawn.

Sensing the presence of the police and excise officials, people involved in manufacturing hooch at the Dera fled, abandoning their houses.

During searches of deserted houses, officials recovered 71 drums filled with illicit mahua liquor. The required quantity was seized as per procedure, while the remaining liquor was destroyed on the spot.

Twelve furnaces constructed underground for manufacturing liquor were also found and demolished. Two boilers used for brewing the liquor were seized.

In all, 127 police and excise personnel were part of the drive, including 75 personnel from Bhopal Rural Police and 52 from the excise department.

SDOP Durjan Singh Barkade, Berasia TI Rambabu Choudhary, Gunga TI Rinku Jatav and Inspector Narendra Yadav played key roles.

Organised bootleggers

Police officials said bootleggers operate in an organised manner, with their associates keeping watch on roads leading to the village and alerting them about police raids.

Illicit liquor made in Tarawali and nearby villages is reportedly sold within a radius of about one kilometre, often in small plastic pouches for Rs 20 to 40. Although raids are conducted, the illegal hooch manufacturing and sale resume after a few days.