Mumbai Hooch Deaths: 117 excise raids in 18 months could not stop hooch flow

The raids were conducted by four units of the excise department and illegal liquor worth Rs 2,67,393 was seized between January 1, 2014 and June 18, 2015.

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Last year, the excise department arrested one of the nine people in police custody for the recent hooch tragedy, and another who is absconding. According to the excise department, Salim Shaikh, a resident of Kharodi village was held on July 4, 2014 with 26 litres of countrymade liquor worth Rs 1475. Shaikh has been identified as one of the suppliers of liquor to retailer Raju Pascar.

67-year-old Mainaki Swami was caught by the excise department on December 11, 2014 and 25 litres of countrymade liquor was seized. Swami is still being chased by Mumbai Police Crime Branch. “Both were bootleggers and received bail soon after and went back to the liquor trade. That is their only source of income,” a senior excise department official said.

While data shows that the department was active in Kharodi village, the nine arrested by the crime branch were able to sneak in methanol and sell it in small pouches to unsuspecting locals. “In spite of 117 raids in Malwani, we can do nothing if people continue to want to drink hooch,” said Shamsunder Shinde, State Excise Commissioner.

However, of the 117 raids, only 2 were on premises where hooch was being sold. A majority of the raids focused on countrymade liquor, Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and toddy. “While manufacturing, supplying and selling of hooch is profitable, losses to the state government are greater from unauthorised sale of IMFL and country liquor,” an excise department official said.

He added that the department’s scrutiny is greatest in the periphery of privately owned wine shops and government run liquor stores. The closest government-run liquor shop was more than a kilometre away from Kharodi village. “We conduct most raids within one kilometre of liquor stores. That is where possibility of bootlegging is more, causing losses to the state government,” the officer said.

At distances exceeding four kilometres from liquor stores, frequency of raids reduce. “As much as we try to bust sale of hooch, locations keep changing,” the officer said.

srinath.rao@expressindia.com