Madhya Pradesh Police displays the seized liquor cartons
Bhopal: As Madhya Pradesh prepares for Assembly elections, smuggling of illegal liquor has also started in the state. On Sunday night, Machalpur police of Rajgarh district seized illegal liquor worth Rs 80 lakh. The smugglers were transporting the liquor from Punjab and Haryana to Indore.
Smugglers inspired by Telugu flick ‘Pushpa’
The whole smuggling of liquor was being done in the style shown in the movie ‘Pushpa’. In a truck filled with straw, an iron mesh was welded separately at the back and boxes of liquor were kept in them and transported. These were hidden behind the straw sacks, the police said.
The police have arrested the truck driver and have named him as an accused in the case. According to District Superintendent of Police Dharamraj Meena, they had received inputs from an informer that a truck full of foreign liquor has left Haryana. This vehicle was expected to go either to Gujarat or to Mumbai, according to police informers.
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The DSP instructed police teams deployed at Khilchipur, Bhojpur, Machalpur, Jirapur police stations of Rajasthan border to remain alert and keep an eye on the trucks passing through the area. They were also told about the make of the truck that the informer had said was transporting the illegal liquor.
Late in the evening, a truck similar to the one described by the informer was spotted and stopped. Inside the truck, straw bags of 50 kg each were kept in such a manner that the liquor hidden beneath was not visible. Inside this huge truck, liquor was stored inside a specially constructed cabin.
Police recover 670 boxes of liquor, arrest truck driver
When the police off loaded all the sacks, they found 670 boxes of English liquor of various brands inside the cabin. The value of the entire batch is estimated to be Rs 80 lakh, said the police.
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The Machalpur Police arrested the truck driver immediately. He has been identified as Lakshya Sharma, who is a resident of Panipat in Haryana district. He did not have any papers to show from where exactly was he bringing the liquor or for whom it was meant.
The police have launched a probe and initiated action against the truck driver. The police believe that only after they interrogate the driver will they be able to catch the other culprits involved in this illegal liquor trade. The police believe that this liquor was meant for one or the other constituency in Madhya Pradesh, but it was seized before it could reach its destination.
