Seized liquor sparks political storm in Vadodara

Vadodara: A controversy has erupted over the seizure of liquor in Chhota Udepur district that, according to a police complaint, was allegedly meant to be delivered to Congress candidate from Ward 15 of Vadodara, Ashish Joshi.Joshi, who was suspended by the BJP last year on the grounds that he had damaged the party's image and later joined the Congress ahead of the polls, dismissed the allegations. Sankheda police in Chhota Udepur district registered an offence on Friday after seizing liquor from a van driven by Pramod Pandey, a resident of Dabhoi. The van, which did not have a registration plate, was intercepted on a diversion near the Orsang river at Bahadarpur in Sankheda taluka. The FIR states that when police tried to stop the vehicle, Pandey tried to flee and the van got stuck in the river sand. Police said they recovered 299 bottles of liquor valued at Rs 3.96 lakh from the vehicle. According to the FIR, Pandey said he procured the liquor from Kawant through a contact of Joshi and was supposed to deliver it to him. He also provided Joshi's mobile number in the FIR. Joshi denied the allegations, saying there had been earlier attempts to frame him in a land-grabbing case. "At that stage itself, I said that I would be targeted even more. For the last few days too, we were being tipped off that attempts would be made to frame me in a case. In the past, people have been framed in narcotics cases in the city too. We will fight this out," he said. Joshi pointed out that the FIR does not mention who supplied the liquor to the driver. "It has named only me and the driver. I am willing to undergo narcoanalysis and the same should be done for the driver to bring out the truth," he said. Vadodara city Congress in-charge Bimal Shah said two other party candidates had also been approached by the police for different reasons. One was contacted in connection with a family matter and another over a business partnership issue, Shah said.