Cops seize 350 litres of hooch in Chharanagar

AHMEDABAD: In a massive search operation for country-made liquor dens in Chharanagar, Sardarnagar police station officials seized 350 litres of ready-to-consume liquor and 22,360 litres of wash, raw material used for making liquor, till late on Saturday night. The police have arrested four persons of whom three are women.
Sardarnagar police said Amit Vishwakarma, deputy commissioner of police, Zone IV, had ordered a search operation in Chharanagar and nearby areas for persons suspected to be involved in production and distribution of country-made liquor.
After the 2009 hooch tragedy that claimed more than 150 lives in the city, police stations were asked to be stringent and keep a tab on the country-liquor distribution network. Vishwakarma told TOI on Saturday that had received a number of complaints about liquor production and consumption in the area and had thus initiated the search operation.
"We found a huge stock in many houses and storage facilities. Most of the bootleggers were using plastic cans and drums to store the stock. Small production facilities were also busted. In total, we managed to seize over 20,000 litres of wash. We have registered 23 cases, one of the highest numbers in the recent past, and have started searches for 17 accused who absconded during the search operation," said V S Sarvaiya, Sardarnagar police station inspector.
Police said that a litre of wash can make up to 20 litres of country-made liquor after mixing water. Wash mainly consists of rotten fruits and alum but the bootleggers sometimes also mix ethanol to reduce the dependence on raw material. If the proportion of components goes awry, the liquor becomes killer hooch, they added.