Excise sleuths bust illicit liquor bottling racket
Speaking at a press conference held at the local Excise office here on Wednesday, Circle Inspector Rajasekhar Rao disclosed that one of the accused, identified as Tuniki Karthik from R&R Colony in Rudravanam under Vemulawada Urban mandal, had been clandestinely collecting used bottles of reputed liquor brands such as Black & White, William's Son, Black Dog, Red Label, and Signature. These bottles were reportedly refilled with spurious alcohol and sold to unsuspecting consumers in the local market.
The Excise team, acting swiftly on gathered intelligence, conducted a raid at Karthik's residence where they discovered a substantial stock of counterfeit liquor. The seizure included 9 two-litre and 9 one-litre water bottles containing low-grade liquor, in addition to three Signature-branded bottles.
Upon interrogation, Karthik confessed to running the operation for over six months with the help of an accomplice, identified as Damarapalli Santosh of Vemulawada town.
Subsequent searches at Santosh's premises yielded further contraband — including three bottles each of Signature and William's (750 ml), and one bottle each of IB, RC Red, and Royal Green, along with a half-litre bottle of RC Red. Officials estimate the current market value of the seized material to be around Rs 50,000, with the total volume of illicit transactions conducted by the duo suspected to have crossed Rs 2 lakh during the six-month period.
Both accused have been remanded to judicial custody. Further investigation is underway to trace the source of the cheap liquor used and determine if the racket has wider linkages.
CI Rajasekhar Rao reiterated the department's commitment to curbing the sale of illicit liquor, stating that
'there will be zero tolerance towards activities endangering public health. We urge citizens to remain vigilant and report any suspicious liquor trade to the authorities.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
42 minutes ago
- News18
Two Naxalites carrying collective reward of Rs 11 lakh held in Chhattisgarh
Agency: PTI Mohla/Bijapur, Aug 7 (PTI) Two Naxalites carrying a collective reward of Rs 11 lakh on their heads were arrested from two districts in Chhattisgarh, police said on Thursday. Shrikant Punem was apprehended following an encounter between security forces and Maoists in a forest of Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district at 4pm on Wednesday, the district's Superintendent of Police YP Singh said. The exchange of fire took place in the forest of Khursekhurd village under Madanwada police station limits when a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) and 27th and 44th battalions of Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) was out on a search-cum-area domination operation, he said. The offensive was launched as part of the district police's ongoing 'Operation Prayas' against Naxalites in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, which shares a border with Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, he said. On finding security personnel zeroing on them, the Naxalites escaped into the dense forest, though one of them was rounded up during the search of the area, he said. 'Punem hails from Gangaloor area of Bijapur district and was divisional committee member of the Maoists. He was presently heading Aundhi-Mohla joint area committee as its commander. He was carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh. One 9 mm pistol, four live cartridges, one mobile phone, Rs 11,080 cash, and Maoist documents were recovered from his possession," the SP said. The search operation in the area is ongoing to trace the ultras, he added. In separate action, Shankar Kursam (36), a wanted Maoist janmilitia commander, was arrested from the forest between Peddapal and Hirmagunda villages in Bijapur district, a local official said. 'A joint team of DRG and CRPF's 85th battalion was involved in this action. Kursam was wanted in several Naxal-related incidents, including triggering an IED blast near Singar Bahar Nala on April 9 this year in which a CRPF jawan was killed and the murder of a civilian in Mankeli village on December 23, 2023," the official said. He was carrying a reward of Rs 3 lakh on his head while the Bijapur SP had separately announced a reward of Rs 10,000 for information leading to his arrest, the official added. PTI COR TKP BNM view comments First Published: August 07, 2025, 19:00 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
'Even If Not Convicted...': Supreme Court Jabs Probe Agency On Conviction Rate
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate 's conviction rate - 0.1 per cent of 5,892 money laundering cases filed in the first six months of this year - has been red flagged, again, by the Supreme Court. The court also took a shot at the federal agency's habit of incarcerating suspects for extended periods while they try to build a case - a habit called out by the opposition - and said, "... and even if they are not convicted, you have been successful in sentencing them almost without a trial for years together." The stinging reprimand came as a Chief Justice BR Gavai-led bench was reviewing a May judgement on JSW Steel's acquisition of Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd, or BPSL. The court had then said JSW's resolution plan for BPSL was "illegal". But in July that verdict was recalled after petitions filed by both sides, as well as public lenders like the State Bank of India; the court said certain facts had to be reconsidered. However, it was sharp observations on the efficacy of the ED that raised eyebrows. The topic came up when a lawyer referred to the agency's investigation into BPSL. To this the Chief Justice quipped, "Here also the ED is there?" Appearing for the agency, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta complained of a "narrative being built on YouTube" (against the ED and its investigation timelines), and pointed to what he said was a little-known fact - that it had recovered Rs 23,000 crore in laundered cash. "In some cases, when politicians are raided and cash was found, our (cash-counting) machines stopped functioning... we had to bring new machines," he declared. The court, however, reminded the Solicitor General it does not "decide matters on narratives". "I don't see news channels... I see headlines in newspapers in the morning for 10-15 minutes only," the Chief Justice responded, and seized on a more pertinent point. "What is the conviction rate?" the Chief Justice asked. Mr Mehta acknowledged that conviction rates are 'very low' but blamed 'ills plaguing the criminal justice system'. The Chief Justice then shot back, "Even if they (suspects in money laundering cases) are not convicted you have been successful in sentencing them almost without a trial for years..." The exchange follows different benches of the Supreme Court criticising the 'high-handedness' of the ED, particularly in money laundering cases involving opposition leaders. In March the government told Parliament - as the ED was grilling RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav - that the agency's decadal conviction rate for cases against politicians is 1 per cent. In fact, last year there were multiple instances in which the Supreme Court hauled up the ED over its handling of cases, including telling it it cannot "keep filing chargesheets to keep people in jail". That rebuke was delivered by then-Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna after the ED filed supplementary chargesheets to claim denial of bail to an accused jailed for 18 months. The court made a similar observation in April the year before; Justice Krishna Murari and Justice CT Ravikumar said, "Without completing investigation, a charge sheet cannot be filed by an investigating agency only to deprive an arrested accused of his right to default bail..." READ | "Probe Agency Can't Arrest Accused If...": Supreme Court's Big Ruling These mattes came to a head in a furious political row over the arrest and incarceration of AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia in the alleged liquor policy scam case. Both were jailed for months before being given bail by the Supreme Court. The opposition has repeatedly criticised the government over its use, they say, of federal investigative agencies like the ED to 'target and harass' rival politicians, particularly before elections. In response, the ruling BJP has just as repeatedly denied such claims, and said each investigative agency works independently towards its goal of rooting out all corruption.
News18
an hour ago
- News18
Man cheated of Rs 5 lakh with promise of TC job in railways
Agency: PTI Thane, Aug 7 (PTI) A 25-year-old man in the district was cheated of Rs 5 lakh by a person by promising to get him a job as a ticket collector in the railways, police said on Thursday. Vishal Vasant Niwate (37), the accused, has already been arrested in another case. As per Prathamesh More, a resident of Kalyan, he paid Niwate a total of Rs 5 lakh between January 10 and February 2 through UPI apps, said assistant inspector Pravin Bakal of Khadakpada police station. When More did not get any appointment letter and the accused gave him evasive replies, he filed a complaint a few days ago. 'We have registered a case under sections 318(4) (cheating), 316(2) (criminal breach of trust), 336(3) (forgery of electronic records) and 340(2) (forged document or electronic record and using it as genuine) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita," the official said. view comments First Published: August 07, 2025, 18:45 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
