Overcharging liquor shops to face police action

Noida: A drive will soon be conducted against retail liquor shops demanding higher prices than the maximum retail rate from customers in Noida and

Greater Noida

. Acting on one such complaint, the

excise department

on Thursday pulled up a liquor shop owner in Sector 35 for demanding an extra amount for whisky bottles.

In Gautam Budh Nagar, there are some 525 retail

liquor vends

. While 231 are country-made liquor shops, the remaining 294 sell Indian-made

foreign liquor

or beer. The excise department gets maximum

complaints

about beer shops, particularly the ones located on the outskirts.

On Thursday, the department served a notice to a liquor retailer in Morna locality of Sector 35. In fact, district excise officer RB Singh reached the liquor store earlier this week posing as a customer.

“Because I was wearing a mask, the staff at the shop was not able to recognise me. They demanded extra money from me and I obliged. And later I revealed my actual identity,” he said, sharing details of the first crackdown.

The officer demanded a bottle of Royal Stag Barrel and Blenders Pride Reserve. The MRP as fixed by the Uttar Pradesh government is Rs 710 and Rs 1,000, respectively, for the two bottles. However, the staff deputed at the shop demanded Rs 720 and Rs 1,010 for the two bottles, respectively.

The excise department also filed a police complaint against the licencee, Sunita Pandey, and two staff members deputed at the shop were booked by the local police. Pandey has been given three days to explain why the staff members were overcharging customers or face further action.

The seven excise inspectors deputed in the district have been asked to up the vigil against retailers.

“The checking will be done in a random manner. As the message gets circulated, liquor retailers become cautious. But we will continue the drive this month in a discreet manner,” Singh added.

The excise department of UP has swung into action, post the Aligarh liquor tragedy which claimed more than 90 lives over the past one week.