Punjab cracks down on premium liquor refilling racket in Ludhiana

Chandigarh: Punjab excise department conducted two major enforcement operations in the Ludhiana East Range on Saturday, unearthing a premium liquor refilling racket and recovering a substantial consignment of illicit alcohol, including liquor smuggled into the state, state finance, planning, excise and taxation minister Harpal Singh Cheema said on Sunday."The operations were executed swiftly based on specific intelligence inputs and under the direct supervision of excise and taxation commissioner Jitendra Jorwal, along with other senior departmental officers. Our teams acted with precision to not only seize illegal stock but also to expose a new modus operandi where criminals are endangering public health by refilling premium bottles with low-quality liquor. This is a clear case of fraud and a serious threat to consumer safety, and we will not tolerate it," read a written statement by Cheema."In the first raid, enforcement teams, in coordination with local police, dismantled a sophisticated racket operating in Ludhiana. The accused were found refilling high-end imported liquor bottles, including Glenlivet, Johnnie Walker Gold Label, and Chivas Regal, with cheaper Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and Punjab Medium Liquor (PML), with the intent to deceive consumers and evade excise duties. Two individuals, Amit Vij and Pankaj Saini, were apprehended at the scene. The authorities recovered 106 empty bottles, 39 refilled bottles, various bottling accessories, and seized a Swift Dzire vehicle. An FIR has been registered at Police Station Division No 3, Ludhiana, and investigations are ongoing to trace the full extent of the network," he stated."In a separate operation conducted the same day, excise officials intercepted Vikramjeet Singh in Burma village (Samrala), who was found in possession of 60 bottles of illicit liquor labelled "For Sale in Chandigarh only." The consignment was illegally smuggled into Punjab, prompting his immediate arrest. A case has been registered at Samrala police station under the relevant provisions of the Punjab Excise Act, 1914," Cheema added.