Premium

New Year Warning to Bootleggers: Vadodara police crush 50,000 units of liquor seized in 2025 under road rollers

The stash, spread over a 700-metre stretch, is part of liquor worth over Rs 7.5 crore destroyed within Vadodara city limits in 2025 so far

3 min readVadodaraUpdated: Dec 29, 2025 07:32 PM IST

The stash, spread over a 700-metre stretch, is part of liquor worth over Rs 7.5 crore destroyed within Vadodara city limits in 2025 so far. (Express Photo)

Beer cans and bottles containing liquor worth Rs 1.71 crore were crushed under road rollers by the Vadodara city police on Monday morning to send out a “strong message” to bootleggers ahead of the New Year festivities.

The stash, spread over a 700-metre stretch, is part of liquor worth over Rs 7.5 crore destroyed within Vadodara city limits in 2025 so far.

On Monday morning, liquor seized by 17 police stations in Vadodara city was laid out on a deserted road leading to Koyali on the city’s outskirts, where two road rollers were brought in to crush the containers. As senior police officials and personnel watched the confiscated muddamal being destroyed, several litres of bootlegged liquor spilled onto the road.

On Monday morning, liquor seized by 17 police stations in Vadodara city was laid out on a deserted road leading to Koyali on the city’s outskirts. (Express Photo)

Vadodara City Police Commissioner Narasimha Komar said the exercise was undertaken to send out a “strong message” to bootleggers at the end of the year. “During the year 2025, the Vadodara city police have lodged over 3,000 cases under the Prohibition Law and made arrests of a similar number. These include cases of country-made and IMFL liquor involving manufacturing, possession, transport and consumption. Today’s exercise was to destroy 50,000 units of seized alcohol worth Rs 1.71 crore. We have carried out similar exercises on five previous occasions, with more than Rs 7.54 crore worth of liquor destroyed this year,” Komar said.

Stating that the Vadodara city police would continue to enforce the Prohibition Act forcefully in 2026, Komar added, “This is a year-end message that strong action will be initiated against those breaking the law even in 2026.”

“In 2025, we have booked 131 repeat offenders under the Gujarat Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act (PASA), externed 15 as per the process of law, initiated bail cancellation proceedings against 200 persons under the Prohibition Law, and recovered over Rs 5 lakh as fines. An organised criminal gang of bootleggers led by notorious bootlegger Alpu Sindhi was booked under the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime Act, 2015 (GUJCTOC). The process of identifying their properties for attachment is underway to disrupt their economic chain built on the proceeds of crime,” he said.

Aditi Raja

Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues. Expertise: Core Authority & Specialization: Her reporting is characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the complex factors shaping Central Gujarat, which comprises a vast tribal population, including: Politics and Administration: In-depth analysis of dynamics within factions of political parties and how it affects the affairs in the region, visits of national leaders making prominent statements, and government policy decisions impacting the population on ground. Crucial Regional Projects: She consistently reports on the socio-economic and political impact of infrastructure projects in the region, especially the Statue of Unity, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail bullet train project as well as the National Highway infrastructure. Social Justice and Human Rights: Her reporting offers deep coverage of sensitive human-interest topics, including gender, crime, and tribal issues. Her reports cover legal proceedings from various district courts as well as the Gujarat High Court (e.g., the Bilkis Bano case remission, POCSO court orders, Public Interest Litigations), the plight of tribal communities, and broader social conflicts (e.g., Kheda flogging case). Local Impact & Disaster Reporting: Excels in documenting the immediate impact of events on communities, such as the political and civic fallout of the Vadodara floods, the subsequent public anger, and the long-delayed river redevelopment projects, Harni Boat Tragedy, Air India crash, bringing out a blend of stories from the investigations as well as human emotions. Special Interest Beat: She tracks incidents concerning Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRIs) including crime and legal battles abroad, issues of illegal immigration and deportations, as well as social events connecting the local Gujarati experience to the global diaspora. ... Read More

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Loading Taboola...