Call records and bank trails link Gurgaon vend owner to liquor racket, court denies bail

Gurgaon: A city court has denied bail to Ankush Goyal — a liquor store owner and key conspirator in a large-scale illicit liquor diversion and tax evasion racket — after investigators produced material to show his involvement in the scam. Additional sessions judge Amit Gautam held that gravity of the offences, organised nature of the crime, and pending recovery of crucial documents made his release untenable.The case was registered after a raid was conducted on Dec 9 last year at the liquor vend, The Theka, near Signature Towers. Acting on tip-off, the excise department seized 3,821 liquor cases and 176 loose bottles of foreign-made liquor that purportedly lacked mandatory holograms, and track and trace strips. Investigators said the liquor, meant to be sent to Goa, was diverted to the Gurgaon vend. Police claimed consignments intended for Goa and Maharashtra were rerouted under the guise of bond-to-bond transfers and, instead of reaching their interstate destinations, were unlawfully unloaded and sold in Gurgaon. Public prosecutor Dhananjay Kumar argued that sales were carried out through fake, computer-generated bills as part of an organised method to evade excise duties. The prosecution said Goyal's role emerged from disclosure statements, bank transactions, call detail records, and a 25% partnership interest in the vend, inferred from a Rs 9 lakh transfer received from the outlet's bank account. "He is also accused of arranging transportation vehicles, managing operations, and facilitating illegal supply from bonded warehouses," the public prosecutor said. The prosecution further contended that forged bills were generated using a computer system that has not been recovered, which, it said, strengthened suspicion of concealment of evidence. The court rejected Goyal's claims of false implication and procedural lapses, observing that the material collected so far indicated active participation in the conspiracy. Judge Gautam denied bail citing seriousness of the allegations, including forgery, illegal liquor trade, and evasion causing substantial revenue loss. "Organised and systemic nature of the illegal operation suggested coordinated criminal activity rather than isolated violations," the court said. The court also noted the active role attributed to Goyal in arranging illegal supply chains and managing operational aspects of the diversion. With the investigation in progress, it held that releasing him could jeopardise evidence collection and that it was not an appropriate stage to grant bail, particularly when the probe placed Goyal as a central figure in the conspiracy.