"Five bootleggers have been arrested with 115 liters of illicit liquor in Rourkela."
Arpit Pattnaik
The Odisha Excise department seized 115 liters of counterfeit liquor from the Chhend area in Odisha's Rourkela and arrested five bootleggers for selling illicit liquor.
Based on reports, acting on a tip-off, Excise raided a den in Dhamra basti and arrested the bootleggers while they were finalizing a deal to sell the illicit liquor.
The arrested individuals include Hamid Khan (44) of Gopabandhu Pali, Deepak Goud (42) of Sector-19, Shiv Hindocha (43) of Basanti Colony, Avtar Singh (34) of Uditnagar, and Phillip Behera (54) of Chhend. The accused include two auto-rickshaw drivers and a tow truck owner.
Excise officials seized 115 liters of counterfeit foreign liquor, 2,000 empty bottles, 497 corks, 246 stickers, and 363 adhesive labels along with one auto-rickshaw, one motorbike, and one scooter from their possession. The estimated value of seized counterfeit liquor and goods is said to be around Rs 5 lakh.
Preliminary investigation suggests that the accused were bringing fake liquor from Jharkhand and selling it at various places in the steel city.
