Constable, Gram Rakshak Dal guards held for selling seized liquor in Gir Somnath

“The police constable was on the run since a case was registered against two GRD guards at Sutrapada police station on July 3 and his name surfaced in the case during the course of investigation. In the meantime, he had moved the Gir Somnath district and sessions court for anticipatory bail. However, the court rejected his plea and eventually he surrendered,” said police sub-inspector (PSI) Nanji Vaghela, who is in-charge of Sutrapada police station.

With this, the number of arrests in the case has gone up to five. Acting on a tip-off, a team led by PSI Vaghela had caught Dinesh Solanki (28) and Vijay Kamaliya (33) — two GRD guards attached  to Sutrapada police station — while the duo were handling a plastic bag behind Dak Bungalow, the guest house of district panchayat in Prachi village late on July 3.

Solanki and Kamalikya were detained from the spot after the bag they were found in possession of was found to be packed with 14 bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) worth Rs 5,600. They were arrested later after a case was registered against the two GRD guards under the Gujarat Prohibition Act on the basis of a complaint filed by Rajni Mori, another police constable posted at Sutrapada police station.

According to the FIR, the three home guards and the police constable had seized the IMFL consignment while they were doing random vehicle-checking at Prachi village on June 28 night. The matter came to light on July 3 when a team, led by the PSI, caught them red-handed at the place where they had hidden the liquor consignment, which the police said, they had seized in the name of muddamal.

“During the course of investigation, Solanki and Kamaliya said they had sold some of the IMFL bottles to one Hemal Tanna, a local bootlegger of Prachi. They also said that Jakhotra and Barad were also part of the team that had seized the liquor consignment from a car. Therefore, we arrested Jakhotra and Tanna also,” Vaghela further said.

The Sutrapada PSI said the three GRD guards were posted in Prachi for ensuring smooth movement of vehicular traffic on the coastal highway. “However, none of them were officially on duty when they started vehicle-checking and seized the liquor consignment. Nor was the police constable on duty,” said Vaghela, adding, “The accused GRD guards and the police constable apparently let the driver of the car in which the IMFL consignment was being transported go without reporting him to the police station.”

The SP said that strict action will be taken against all those involved in the case. “We will launch department action against the police constable besides investigating his role in the criminal case against him. As for GRD guards, we have no option but to terminate their services,” Manoharsinh Jadeja, superintendent of police (SP) of Gir Somnath, said, adding, “By taking strict action, we want to give a clear signal that no one involved in illegal activities will be spared.”

He added that police will also investigate as to how and from whom the GRD guards and the police constable seized the liquor consignment. The PSI said the three GRD guards and Tanna have since been granted bail while the police constable continues to be in police custody.