Bootleggers’ haven out of bounds even for police

The place has earned so much notoriety that Kathlal police officers have to think twice before they raid a bhatthi brewing hooch in Kakarkhad ravines. They say there are more than 25 entry and exit points in these ravines and all the routes are not easily accessible. The route meant for four wheelers ends at a certain point and then one has to use a two-wheeler to travel further.

Kheda Superintendent of Police,Himanshu Shukla told Newsline,“If one takes a look at these ravines on Google Earth,one would realise how puzzling the terrain is. These ravines have been a major cause of concern for us due to the large number of breweries they house. We have increased the number of the raids,which we carry out only with adequate staff. Some of the major raids were carried out before the Rath Yatra.”

Shukla said frequent raids in the area will minimise the nuisance of liquor brewing.

“We had wiped out these bhatthis during the Rath Yatra and because of that fear nobody brews hooch these days. But otherwise,we have to plan it better and well in advance before entering the Kakrakhad kotars (ravines),” said Kathlal police sub inspector B N Rao.

Rao said: “It has everything which one finds in Chambal. The routes,the notorious people and the danger involved during the raids here. Our raids often end without any success mostly because of the complicated routes. If we really want to carry out a systematic raid,we will have to have about 2,500 policemen to plug each and every exit point. However,this is practically impossible.”

Police officials say top officials are well aware of Kakarkhad village,which has a population of 15,000. This village is notorious for its Dabhis who are mainly into the hooch business. “Those who are into the liquor brewing business are not afraid of the police. They know how to get away. In most raids,the number of police personnel is limited and the culprits escape before police can even reach the spot. They don’t even leave any trace there of their activity except the bhatthi,” said a police officer at Kheda police.

According to police officers at Kathlal,Vinu Dagri,the prime accused in Ahmedabad hooch tragedy,had a strong network till some time back. “There was a time when Dagri was actually running business with the help of Dabhis but it ended after some of the local bootleggers sniffed more profit in selling liquor to urban areas directly instead of selling it through him.

Meanwhile,after the Ahmedabad hooch tragedy,the police have sealed the major routes.

“We have sealed some of the key entry points and at four specific points we have placed a team of 10 officers. They are divided into two shifts to ensure that even during the night no liquor brewing takes place,” said Rao.

The hooch ‘cooperative society’

The Kakarkhad breweries actually operated as a cooperative society for country-made liquor. “The brewers would handover the small liquor consignment to one person and he would sell it off to a main bootlegger in the urban area,” said Kathlal PSI B N Rao. The profit sharing was also on the line of a cooperative society. Such was the unity of the members that most police raids proved to be a futile exercise.