Mira-Bhayandar: Despite a series of raids by the Thane (rural) police, some wine shop owners have refused to mend their ways.
The state government has allowed home delivery of liquor barring containment zones, however, some establishments continue to indulge in over-the-counter sale of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), and thus defeating the entire purpose of the stop-gap arrangements put in place by the district administration to contain the spread of coronavirus.
According to the officials, an FIR was registered at the Mira Road police station against the manager and security guard of Miraj Wines in Sheetal Nagar, under the relevant sections of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act and provisions of the IPC for disobeying orders duly promulgated by a public servant.
The action followed after a video clip exposing the illegalities went viral on social media platforms. Initially, the police claimed that the shop was closed, but later filed an offence against the duo, following directions from SP Dr. Shivaji Rathod and Addl SP Sanjay Patil.
Staffers and managers of four liquor vending units have been booked for their alleged involvement in over-the-counter sale or deliveries executed from around the premises of the establishments in the past one week. While the erring establishments continue to sell IMFL, action against them by the excise department is still awaited.
Mira-Bhayandar: Sleuths of the Thane (rural) police, led by Deputy SP Shashikant Bhosale, raided a matka (gambling) den running from an eatery in the Bunderwadi area of Bhayandar (east) on Tuesday. While four people including two matka operators were apprehended, gambling material and cash were seized from the spot.
The illegal activities were going on under the jurisdiction of the Navghar police station, officials of which had failed to take action, prompting the Deputy SP to form a special team to bust the gambling den.
The accused quartet have been identified as Chandrakant Ratanlal Panchal (56), Sudip Nikhil Dutta (47), Manmohan Rajendra Tiwari (30) and Pappu Bakelal Sondkar (40) who caught red handed while accepting and placing bets on numbers similar to the Mumbai-Kalyan matka racket, police said.
A case under the relevant sections of the IPC, Disaster Management Act, Bombay Prevention of Gambling Act and Epidemic Act has been registered against the accused at the Navghar police station. The raiding team comprised Police Sub Inspector Suraj Shinde, personnel Machindra Pandit and Kuyeskar.
Further investigations were underway.
